Running Minnesota

DENNY JORDAN

2011-12-05T12:34:00.006-06:00

I’d argue that Denny Jordan put together one of the most impressive seasons around in 2011. Not only did he claim the 60-64 year old Runner of the Year title, his first, but he did it while spending half of the year at 59. His most impressive performance came at Grandma’s Marathon. After running half a dozen or so 3:09 marathons in the last 2 years, the Roseville resident took advantage of the ideal conditions and came home in 2:57. That puts him in a unique group of athletes that have been able to run a marathon in less than 2 hours plus their age, in minutes. That’s a feat that seems to be more and more difficult with age. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba)

Congratulations on a great season! You’ve been consistently finishing second or third in your age group in the Runner of the Year rankings, but this is your first title. Was earning the title one of your goals for the year?
It was not one of my goals. I hadn’t thought about it until turning 60 when I received a phone call from another Runner of the Year and asked me if I thought I should try for the Runner of the Year. I told him that I hadn’t considered it, but that sparked my interest to look into it.

Your win is even more impressive given that you didn’t turn 60 until half the season was over. Were you concerned that you wouldn’t been able to earn enough points with such a short season?
Yes, after reviewing the races at that point I didn’t think I was capable of hitting all the races I needed to run with half the year already gone and needing to compile as many points as possible.

Just the other day I was running with a soon-to-be-60-year-old and, like a lot of runners, he was looking forward to a new age. He talked about training a little harder in the up coming year and putting together a solid racing season. Did you find yourself looking forward to the season more with a new age group on the horizon?
No. My goal always has been since turning 50 to every year to try to run as close as possible to my last year’s times. If I accomplish that I feel like I am racing well and had a good year.

One of the standards these “old guys” I run with often talk about for the marathon is 2 hours plus your age, in minutes. For example, a 40 year old would have to run sub-2:40. It’s one of those standards that gets harder and harder as we get older – the number of 30 and 40 year olds meeting this standard is a lot higher than the number of 50 and 60 year olds. Had you ever heard of this standard before to your 2:57 at Grandma’s when you were 59?
Yes, I have heard of it but never really used it as a prediction tool for myself. I predict my times by previous races and if I feel like I am in good race shape.

Prior to that race, you had run 7 marathons in the previous 15 months and 5 of those were in 3:09. Were you frustrated with consistently running the same time?
No, I wasn’t frustrated. I go into every marathon with the same plan and that is to run a rock solid run. That means - finish the last 6 miles the same as the first 6 miles. I did get called Mr. Consistency from a fellow runner.

What type of changes did you make to your training and racing schedules in order to have such a great breakthrough after being on a plateau for so long?
What you call a plateau, I call consistent performances. However, I did modified some of my training and diet. I focused more on adding quality runs and then making sure to relax on my easy days. It wasn't my usual grind-it-out-every-day routine.

The first marathon results I could find for you are from 2003. Is that when you started running? How did you first get involved with running?
I started running at age 29. So I have been running for over 30 years. I was playing on a mens’ soccer league and when the team went for team runs I found out that I liked running.

After 2003, it looks like you have averaged about 6 marathons a years. Are you trying to join the 50 States group?
No. I just enjoy traveling and going to try a new marathon course and visit a new city.

In general, what is your training philosophy; (miles per week, favorite workouts, etc.)?
My philosophy is to enjoy the run and have fun. I do about 50 miles per week and love to run along the river for long runs. In 30 years I have run just about the whole Twin City area.

Have you thought about 2012 yet? If so, what are your goals and how do you top this year?
I’m not sure I can top 2011. Right now on the schedule I have a few marathons picked out, a few of the local races, but I’d like to try some new races, too. I’d like to stay healthy and stay running.

What do you consider your strengths?
Most races over 10K. I seem to be able to pace myself better for any long distance run.

Weaknesses?
Don’t perform as well on short races. I need to work on that if I want to improve in that area.

What are your PRs?
To tell the truth I really don’t keep close track of them, but I do know my marathon is 2:48 from 1986 - back when you needed to run sub-2:50 to qualify for Boston.

What is your fondest running memory?
The first time I ran Grandma’s Marathon. It kind of set the 31 years in motion. I still love to run the North Shore.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I can't think of anyone in particular, but I'm so thankful that I got into running and have been a part of the Minnesota running community for as long as I have. Along the way, I've met so many nice people, many of which I call friends and for that I'm thankful

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
How to train better. When I first started running I would run like 75 to 80 miles a week right up to the marathon and then wonder why I didn’t run a good marathon. I did that for several years on many different races. Too much crazy running back then. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten smarter at my running.

AMANDA SMOCK

2011-08-28T07:56:00.007-05:00

We interrupt this edition of Running Minnesota to focus on Jumping Minnesota - triple jumping that is. It’s not often that Minnesotans make World or Olympic teams, but that’s what Amanda Smock did earlier this month. The 29-year-old Minneapolis resident started the summer off by winner her first U.S. title. Unfortunately, her winning jump left her a mere 1 ¼ inches short of qualifying for the World meet. She proceeded to travel all over Europe in hopes of qualifying. Those meets proved to be unsuccessful and Smock traveled back to the U.S. for one last meet. There she earned her qualifying mark. This week the former Melrose, MN resident (population 3,598) finds herself in Daegu, South Korea where she’ll be representing the U.S. You can learn more about Smock in this interview with Down the Backstretch, as well as this recent Star Tribune article.

First off, congratulations on your first U.S. title and also on qualifying for Worlds. What were your expectations heading into this season?
An overall goal of mine was to simply improve my mark –while staying healthy and enjoying training. I didn’t really have expectations as far as place finishes go. In the back of my mind I knew I would like to make the world team but it really wasn’t a focus of the year.

Was your U.S. title a little bitter-sweet given that you PR’d, yet missed the World Championship qualifying standards by a mere 1 ¼ inch?
Very much so, while doing some venting of my discouragement in being 3cm short of the B standard, my husband was quick to remind me of my accomplishment of winning the national title…he had to remind me on several occasions. It was a little difficult to fully enjoy that moment, but now looking back, (now that I know how that story ends) I am even more proud of the accomplishment of winning the national title.

After traveling all over Europe in search of the qualifying standard you eventually made your way back to the U.S. and earned the B-standard in what was basically your last chance meet. Was there more excitement or relief following that leap?
I would have to say achieving the B standard at that time was a huge feeling of excitement much more than relief because at that time point I had put the goal of jumping the B standard out of my head and made it all about just jumping with every bit of effort that I had left to give. After the European journey, I didn’t really think there was much left in the tank…but apparently there was!

It sounds like you were pretty beat up and exhausted from trying to qualify for the World Championships. How do you bounce back and prepare yourself for the actual meet?
Great question. It was a tough challenge to get ready to compete after returning from the traveling and the European competitions. Once I had made up my mind to go to California and booked my ticket to fly out the next day for the last opportunity, I made appointments with my Chiropractor (who I saw twice) and my massage therapist to get put back together and to help jump start the recovery process. They were both key pieces to getting on the recovery path.

How do you think this season sets you up for 2012 and the Olympic Games? In addition to placing in the top-3 in the U.S., is there another qualifying standard you’ll have to meet in next year or will your marks from this year carry-over?
I feel really good going into the Olympic year after the way this competitive season has gone. I think there are a few things I can improve upon in my jumps so I look forward to next season and the opportunities to compete and improve my mark. The qualifying window for the Olympic Games began May 1, 2011 so I currently have the B standard for the Olympic Games.

I assume most people don’t wake up one day and say “I want to be a triple jumper.” What is your athletic background and how did you evolve into a triple jumper?
That is true, it’s one of the situations where the event picks you. I had a much greater love for the sport of gymnastics from the time I was about 4 years old all the way through high school so track was really on the back burner. I participated in a few summer youth track meets in elementary school and found I was pretty successful at the sprinting events and the standing long jump so I decided to go out for the team in 7th grade. At that time one of my coaches directed me to the triple jump since I did well in the long jump and I stuck with it. I really didn’t start enjoying the sport though until college. After college, I just wasn’t ready to be done competing; I felt I had a lot of room for improvement in the triple jump so I continued to train.

Are you considered a professional athlete with sponsorships or do you have to finance all these international trips out of your own pocket?
I guess I am considered a professional because I make money doing the sport, however, I only make prize money. I currently have no sponsorships. Travel grants from USATF have financed the international trips I have taken.

In addition to your track and field career you also have a doctorate in exercise physiology. You currently work for Activ8, which is a really unique company. Can you tell us a little bit it and your role with the company?
Activ8 is a great company, I’ll try not to gush, but I really love my job. Briefly, using our exercise physiology backgrounds we create or co-create healthy and active environments whether it be workplace or community based cultures. We apply evidence-based principles to exercise programming as part of a sustainable culture shift in the way people live.

How do you balance your training along with your job?
A significant part of the balancing act draws on the support of my co-workers. Without that support I would not be able to both train and work with Activ8. My colleagues allow me the time to train, travel and live the lifestyle of an athlete while maintaining my role at work.

NICHOLE PORATH

2011-08-12T17:04:00.007-05:00

In this interview we meet Minnesota's newest Olympic Trials qualifier, Nichole Porath. Less than three years ago the 28-year-old Northfield resident boasted a PR of "just" 3:03. However, through dedication and hard work her PR kept dropping with performances of 2:58, 2:55, and 2:51. She simply followed up those races with another breakthrough, running 2:44:46 at this year's Grandma's Marathon - a time well under the 2:46 need to qualify for the trials. Now she sets her sites on another PR at the Trials in Houston in January 2012. To learn even more about Nichole, be sure to visit her blog.

First off, congratulations on earning your first Olympic Trials Marathon berth. You needed so shave over 5 minutes from your PR in order to qualify. Heading into the race what do you think your chances were for qualifying?

I knew I was in the shape of my life and had set myself up as well as I could have, but I still had major doubts. I just know so many women, who I look up to and consider so much more talented than me, that have chased qualifiers and missed. So even though my times in workout were coming down quickly (5k tempos in low 17:50s), I knew 5+ minutes would be a LOT to shave off of my PR.

Two weeks before Grandma’s, as my taper was starting, I went out for an easy run over lunch and didn’t pay attention to the fact that it was 95+ degrees out and very humid. My legs felt funny from the start, but I thought it must be the flats I was running in. The rest of the afternoon I had chills and felt terrible.

I tried a tempo workout later that week and struggled to hit 6:30s, even though I had been running easy 5:40s the previous week. Four days before Grandma’s my left calf cramped up because of dehydration. The day before the race my right calf cramped up.

So, if I had doubts BEFORE all of this happened, I had definite doubts leading up to the morning of the race.

Luckily my body recovered just enough. During the warm up, despite a calf that was hard as a rock, my legs felt amazing. I felt light, strong, and quick. It was odd, but I just KNEW it was going to be my day.

The years leading up to the Trials, Grandma’s Marathon always seems to have a large contingent of men and women trying to meet the qualifying standards. Was that the case this year? Did you have a large pack of women to run with?

There was a good pack of 20 or so women. Many of us found each other through Facebook before the race and I knew there were going to be two groups – one that went out at even splits and one that went out faster. I planned to start out a little slower and warm up into the pace so told them I’d likely catch up to the even-split pack at about mile 7 or 8.

Even though I knew there were a lot of women who I could pace off of, my plan was to run with Brenden Huber, the assistant coach at Gustavus Adolphus College (my Alma mater). We had done several of my harder workouts together and were both going for similar PRs.

I am so glad I had him. Even though there were a lot of women trying to qualify, I found myself alone from the gun. Brenden and I caught and led the “even” pace group at mile 4. The “fast” group must have gone out pretty quick because we didn’t see that pack until about mile 19 or 20 – when most of them were dropping off VERY quickly.

Can you briefly describe your race plan and how the race unfolded? (i.e. we’re you trying to run with the pack, stick to certain splits, run even, run negative, etc?)

My goal average was 6:19s, which is just under a 2:46. I planned to start with 3-4 miles at 6:30 and then move to 6:15s. I have always been a very strong closer, so starting out slower and leaving something for the end suits me very well.

That strategy worked perfectly. I ran the first three in about 6:25 pace, so a little faster than plan, and then found 6:15s effortlessly after the 4th mile and cruised from there. I ran through the half in 1:22.28, and by mile 20 I had a 1:15 cushion. At that point, Brenden encouraged me to start “racing”. I made a conscious decision not to race though – my thought was “You have this. You can only screw it up now!”

I rarely had to look at my watch. I was amazingly consistent, without effort. There were very few miles where I was more than a second or two off of the goal 6:15 pace. My first and last 10K were within a few seconds of each other, and my second half was 4 seconds faster than the first. I could not have planned for anything better!

You changed your mental approach before Grandma's. Can you also tell us a little bit about that?

My mental preparations for Grandma’s began about 4 weeks before the race. I went to bed visualizing 1-2 times a week, like I normally do. I could tell I didn’t fully believe in what I was visualizing, though. I had a lot of lingering doubts.

I mentioned this to a running group one day and they suggested I see a sports psychologist in town. What? I thought, “Do I really need professional psychological help?” After my immediate shock reaction, I told myself that it couldn’t hurt. It turned out to be one of the BEST things I did preparing for the race.

Dr. Asp in Red Wing recognized right away that I felt like I needed to qualify for all of the individuals that had helped me along the way, for my family who was coming up to watch, for my husband, my workplace, etc. That had to go. That type of thinking doesn’t get you anywhere when you’re hurting at mile 20. You have to be racing and wanting a result for YOURSELF. You also need to throw away any external and internal expectations.

He made a great CD which I used to visualize the race. He had several key phrases in it that were to be used at key portions of the marathon. He emphasized racing a “full effort”, recognizing pain as a sign that what I was doing was working, among several other things.

Grandma’s marathon was my strongest mental race – ever. I drew on his key phrases throughout the race, and it was weird – I FULLY believed in them. I’ve always told myself cheesy sayings when I’m racing, but never like this. When I began to hurt, I welcomed the feeling - I remember thinking “Oh, good!” Then I was strong enough to shut out the feeling. I don’t remember hurting much at all during the entire race, and my positive mental state carried me all the way to the finish. If a negative thought did start to creep into my mind, I was strong enough to counter it with something positive. It’s completely cheesy, but completely awesome at the same time.

I am now a HUGE believer in what proper mental preparation can do for a racer.

Since you bettered the 2:46 standard by nearly 90 seconds, I’m guessing somewhere along Superior Street it occurred to you that you were going to qualify. Is that true or did the thought never occur until you crossed the finish line?

I knew it was a very real possibility at half way. At 18 miles I checked my hand, which had a few times written on it, and realized for the first time that it was really going to happen. I had a healthy cushion and still felt great. I was so excited that I accidently dropped a 6:06 mile for mile 19. Oops!

Simply question, could the weather have been any better?

NO!

What do you have planned for the rest of the year?

I’ve had a really hard time defining what I want to do this summer/fall. A lot of people said stuff to me after Grandma’s like; “A huge PR! Wow! And you’ve only been training consistently for the marathon for a year! Gee I wonder what you could do with 15 or 20 months of training. Do you think you could shoot for the A-standard?” That got me pretty excited and I started to wonder what would happen if I was able to put together another great cycle of training, become a little stronger, a little smarter, etc.

Above that, though, I sorely MISSED training after Grandma’s. I missed waking up in the morning and struggling to get my workouts, strength work, and all of the little things into my day on top of a demanding full-time job and a part-time hobby job. I missed chasing a “big” goal. I usually get so wrapped up in achieving goals that I don’t enjoy the “process” of achieving the goal. This was one of the first things I’ve done that I truly enjoyed the process, and recognized that during the cycle. Without any of this, I was completely lost. I NEEDED a new goal. So I emailed my coach, Jerry Schaubach, within a couple of days to ask him to write up a fall marathon plan right away.

He, very smartly, didn’t respond until at least a week after the race, which gave me time to cool off and think more clearly. We talked about a few things, including trying to shoot for the A-standard at either Chicago or NYC (where I was extended an offer to run in their professional women’s division), but decided that there was just too little time –either after Grandma’s to prep for Chicago, or after NYC to prep for the Trials. So my focus will be on the Trials, trying to run somewhere in the low to sub-2:40s, and trying to place as high as I can. Basically, I just want to stay healthy and in love with running and competing, while also pushing myself as far as I can. What am I capable of? How much faster can I be? I can’t wait to find out.

Focusing on the Trials also leaves a summer and fall for me to throw in some fun team circuit and other local races, which I’m excited about!

Alright, let’s back up. How did you get involved with running? Did you run in high school or college?

I ran cross-country and track beginning in junior high for Marshall High School. I was fairly successful from the get-go, moving up to Varsity almost immediately. I finished All-State 3 times in cross country and set 4 school records, but by my senior year I was pretty burned out. Each of my races was progressively slower and I was really hard on myself.

I think that was a blessing, because it led me to turn down D1 and D2 scholarships and instead choose to run D3 at Gustavus. Running there completely revitalized me. My attitude almost immediately changed, and I re-learned to love running and especially competing. I improved significantly there, and by my senior year I was ranked in the top 12 nationally in the 10k. I was injured frequently, though, so I often look back on those years and wonder what I could have done if I could have put together more than 6 or 7 months without an injury.

After college I joined the Run N Fun team, which has been a blast. I ran a few races “for fun” between graduation and 2009, when I picked up marathoning and became much more serious about training and seeing what I could achieve.

Just two-and-a-half years ago your PR was 3:03. Now you’re a 2:44 marathoner. What do you attribute your tremendous improvement to?

1. Finding and working with my coach, Jerry Schaubach (retired Red Wing High School CC and Track coach). I found him in 2010 after the worst injury I’ve ever had. I couldn’t run or workout for over 3 months, and was in the worst shape of my life. Within 10 weeks, he had me in shape enough to run a 2:51 at TCM. With another 7 months under his guidance, I was more than capable of a 2:44. I don’t know what it is about the plans he writes, his simplicity, or perhaps it was the switch to the Daniels’ training program, but whatever it is, it has worked!

2. Strength training: I didn’t do any of this in college, and I completely regret it! I honestly think this was the reason I was always injured. Chrissy Bloemendal, a good high school friend and now a certified personal trainer, wrote me a plan and I found I actually really liked strength training. Who knew?

3. Volume: I have found that high mileage suits me very well.

4. Attitude: I am in love with running, training, and achieving goals more than I EVER have been before. It’s hard to describe - I looked forward to each workout and giving it everything I could. I craved the feeling of exhaustion after a hard tempo workout.

5. Working on nutrition and my weight.

6. My “team”: SO many people were key in helping me get to where I’m at. Jerry, my coach. Jim Patterson, my chiropractor. I saw him once every 7-12 days during my peak mileage. Chrissy, who put together my strength program. Dr. Asp who helped me with my mental game a few weeks prior to the marathon. Dr. Bahl (Red Wing) and Dr. Roberts (in the Cities). Brenden, who helped with my workouts and to pace me the day of the race. I’m so surprised at all of the people who have offered to help, without asking for anything in return. I will be FOREVER grateful to each and every one of them.

In general, what is your training philosophy? Do you tend to follow a certain plan?

100% Jack Daniels.

Your husband, Nathan, is an outstanding x-c skier. How does having a husband that also competes help when it comes to your own training?

It’s SO helpful. He understands what I am going through and is 100% supportive of my goals and the time commitment it takes to get there. Honestly, he puts up with a ton of running talk, questions (which was why he was very supportive of me reaching out for a “real” coach!!), aches and pains (massage, please!), etc. I think if we both weren’t athletes it would have been really hard to continue running after college, and probably impossible to run at this level.

We’re also very lucky to be about the same speed, which allows us to use our workouts as time together. We met on the XC running team at GAC – I was one of the fastest women, he one of the slowest men (with running shoes – with skis it’s another story). Turns out, that makes for a perfect training partner! I’ve gotten fast enough that he can’t keep up on my hard workouts now, so he straps on a pair of rollerskis to help pace me.

Speaking of x-c skiing, lots of people like to tout the benefits of cross-training and they often site that x-c skiing is one the best forms of cross-training for runners. You’ve done some x-c skiing the last couple of years. What does your experience tell you regarding cross-training vs. sport-specific training? As you got more and more serious about qualifying for the trials were you still able to ski or did you find yourself running more?

Oh, man… don’t get me started talking about skiing! It’s a love/hate relationship, really. Because my husband is an elite skier and loves skiing, I have always felt that I should also be a skier. Plus, it’s just great cross-training and is low impact. There have been periods of time that I have wanted to spend a ton of time on the sport, improve a lot, etc. It’s truly a beautiful sport. But there have also been a lot of times that I fall out of love with it, mostly because I don’t have the technique to move fast enough to compete, or even get a workout (Uhg, I get so frustrated! And Nate is the first one to know about it!). My early “learning to ski” blog posts are entertaining to look back on. One post has a picture that sums up most of my time on skis: a frustrated kid on a tricycle with square wheels.

Lately, as I have increased my running mileage, I found it nearly impossible to find time for any cross-training. If I have a period of injury, I may hop on the bike or rollerskis, but that has fortunately been very rare this last year. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to cross-train, and I know that in order to be a competitive marathoner I need to RUN – so I’ve allowed myself to not feel bad about abandoning skiing.

I think eventually I’ll pick it up, and will probably really enjoy it – but likely not until my legs are broken and I have to.

What are your PRs?

3k: 10:12
5k: 17:36
8k: 29:19
10k: 36:48
10 Mile: 1:01:54
Half Marathon: 1:23:00 (unofficially the 2nd half of Grandma’s was actually a PR – 1:22:24)
Marathon: 2:44:46

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?

It’s hard to beat Grandma’s, they do such a nice job of putting on the race and catering to the runners. I also get a kick out of going back for Gustavus’ Alumni CC and Track races every year.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?

My mom. I had the chance to run with her for the first time this spring, when I had a long run planned and my mom and dad went out to do two miles at the same time. It was the coolest thing, mainly because I NEVER thought I’d be running with the two of them.

My mom had never run until the spring of 2010, when she asked me to sign her up for the Fargo 5k. Had I heard her right? She had never wanted to run, not even a step. I had suggested it a couple of times, but she said she was always too busy, someone might see her (gasp!), couldn’t because of X and Y, etc. Once she got herself out the door to train for the 5k, though, it was like a switch was flipped. She is totally into it now, running nearly every day, finding and signing up for races on her own, trying to better her previous times. Apparently she’s even commented to my dad, “I wish I would have picked this up years ago. I wonder how fast I could have been?”. Ha! Now I know where I get it.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?

I wish I would have known to listen to my body. I ran through way too many injuries – running through them is a sign of stupidity, not toughness.

I also wish I would have discovered higher mileage earlier in my running career. It’s made me stronger and faster at nearly every race distance.

AMY HALSETH

2011-07-14T19:07:00.006-05:00

After a 10-year hiatus, Amy Halseth is back racing - and racing well. At the end of 2010, the 41-year-old Minneapolis resident found herself in 2nd place in the 40-44 age group Runner of the Year rankings. She was smack-dab in the middle of perennial ROY contenders, Bonnie Sons and Sonya Decker. Sons has since moved up an age group and Decker will move up later this summer. That opens things up for Halseth, although she’ll have to contend with newly minted Masters runner, Willie Tibbetts. (Photo courtesy of Craig Yotter)

What do you do for a living?
I work for a pharmaceutical company as a disease specialist, focusing on cardiovascular disease and diabetes. I coordinate scientific training and material development for my team, which is made up of about 30 individuals, who are spread out across the country. To relate this to running: when I am in town, I work from home and have a lot of flexibility in my schedule (which is good), but I also do travel quite a bit which can make training a little more complicated.

Where have you been for the last 10 years? Did you make a conscious decision to stop running due to family, career, etc?
I moved to Minnesota in 2008. Prior to that, I was living in San Diego. I was active. I played soccer a few times a week, hiked, did some indoor climbing, but I did not running consistently. My last competitive running era was from 1995 – 1999. I was in graduate school in Nashville, had a pretty flexible schedule and found a great group to run with. In 1999, I moved to start a new job, put a lot of that energy into my work, found different (non-running) social circles, and so running went on the back burner.

What spurred your return to competitive running?
I always knew that “some day” I would get back into it, it was just a matter of that desire coming back and coinciding with life circumstances that were conducive to running. Fortunately, that desire came back around the time I moved to Minnesota. I did know that running could be a great way to get to know people and being new in town and working from home, I needed that! I also have to admit that masters competition sounded like something new and fun (I think I was 39 when I started running again).

What did you miss the most while you were away from the sport?
I missed striving for goals and seeing tangible results of your hard work (it’s a little harder to tell when you’ve set a PR at work), being “in shape” (although I was “in shape” for a regular person, I wasn’t compared to my idea of fitness), and the kinds of friendships that can develop from spending hours running with someone.

Any regrets from taking all that time off?
Not really. Even though I did miss aspects of running, I had fun pursuing other activities; I met my husband, drank more wine, and slept in occasionally. I think the time off actually allowed me to jump back in with a lot more energy than I might have had if I’d kept running over the years, both physically and mentally. Soccer helped me keep some speed, I didn’t have any lingering injuries, and seeing if I could run fast again was a brand new challenge.

Backing up even further, how did you initially get involved with running? Did you run in high school or college?
I started running competitively in high school. My coach was extremely charismatic, committed and focused, and did crazy things like taking 30 of us camping. It was a blast, and our teams were really competitive. I also ran in college at Occidental College, a Division III school in California, but I didn’t have the same drive and was pretty mediocre.

Now that you’re back at it, what are your goals for the year?
In the rest of the year, my main goal is to PR at the Twin Cities 10-Mile (last year I ran 1:04:03), and then I am thinking about a marathon in December.

Last year you nearly claimed your first Runner of the Year title, finishing 2nd to Bonnie Sons. Bonnie has moved up an age group, so do you have your sights set on that title?
I think age group running exemplifies “The Circle of Life” – Bonnie has moved up, but of course there is new competition, Willie Tibbets being a prime example. I’m just trying to do my best and let the “Runner of the Year” points fall where they may.

With your help, the Foley & Mansfield team is in the thick of the team circuit. How much does that play into your plans for the year?
Running with the Foley & Mansfield team has been really fun, and the team circuit definitely drives my racing season. I like that the races aren’t too frequent, span a variety of distances, and being on the circuit seems to guarantee great competition.

How do your first and second running career PRs compare?
I have a mix of “first career” (1994-1999) and “second career” (2009 to present) PRs . My 5K (17:33) and marathon (3:01:32) PRs are from 1999, but I’ve run lifetime PRs this year at 8K (30:13), 10K (38:29) and the half marathon (1:25:03). I ran 18:23 for 5K this year – so I seem to have lost some speed over the years.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
Strengths: My husband once described me as “sturdy and reliable,” and while that isn’t the most romantic thing he’s ever said, it is actually pretty true. I seem to be able to handle a relatively high workload without breaking down (“sturdy”) and once I’m committed to something, I will be incredibly dedicated and do whatever it takes to stick to my plan and get things done (“reliable”). If that means 17 mile runs on the treadmill, running crazy early to catch a morning flight, or bringing my foam roller with me on every trip (and using it!) -- no problem. Ironically, he said this to me before he even knew me as a runner.

Weaknesses: Trashy Bravo “reality” shows, ice cream, and Saturday afternoon naps. Running-wise, I’ve lost a little of the top-end speed I used to have, but I really can’t complain.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I don’t have enough Minnesota history to pull from to give a good answer, so I’d have to say all of the current running friends I’ve made here. From my Foley & Mansfield teammates to my Sunday morning buds, I just love how smart, funny, fast, witty, and kind everyone is. One of my favorite things about long runs especially is that you’ve got time to hear the “long story” and you end up learning so much about people.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish that I hadn’t prematurely set limits on what I was capable of doing. This was mostly an issue in college – I just didn’t think I could improve to another level even with hard work, so I used that as an excuse to slack off way more than I should have. Now, when I think about a new goal, if my first thought to myself is “Oh, I can’t do that” I am sure to follow it up with “Well, why not?” and at least give it a shot. This is a hobby, I’m not trying to perform brain surgery, so what’s the worst that can happen if I go for it?

WILLIE TIBBETTS

2011-06-16T22:05:00.005-05:00

Tap, tap... is this thing on? It's hard to believe it's been over a year since my last interview. Every time I go to a race or look at race results, I'm reminded of how many great runners are out there that still have stories to tell. One such runner is 40-year-old Eagan resident, Willie Tibbetts. Last year Tibbetts earned her first Runner of the Year title in the 35-39 age group. And halfway through 2011 she finds herself atop the 40-44 age group. In addition to running, the Argosy University employee competes in body building competitions as well. In fact, earlier this year she brought home three 1st place trophies at the Gopher State Bodybuilding Championships.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say you don’t have a typical runner’s build. Which came first, bodybuilding or running?
Ha! I did not see this question coming, but a good one as I receive similar questions at races. “Are you sure you’re a distance runner?” Running came first as I ran my first race at a park picnic when I was 5 years old. I’ve always loved to run and need no reason other than having a pair running shoes on my feet.

How do the two sports compliment one another?
For me the two sports compliment my training as my strength has increased, my form and mechanics have improved which has enhanced my efficiency and power. Cardio is an integral factor for the final stages of a bodybuilding competition. As a runner, it doesn’t take much to persuade me to get out and run twice a day, I’m more than happy to put in the time. From my competition experience, I have also learned the importance of nutrition and properly fueling the body for optimal training and competing. It’s not all about depletion and cutting calories to make your race or event day weight. One should be cognizant of the nutrients of the diet to ensure the body can make use of what you feed it and be able to give you the results you are training for.

How are you able to balance two such time-consuming activities?
If I have two workouts scheduled, I will wake up at 4am for the first session so I can be home before my family wakes up. I manage the shorter training session over my lunch break in attempts to make the best of my time. I prefer not to schedule training after work, as I enjoy spending time with my family. My family is supportive and enthusiastic for my participation in these competitive events and they attend with me as often as they can. They also participate in many of the running events and possible physique competitions in the future. For instance, I just registered my 5 year old daughter for a USATF membership for the Track and Field Junior Olympics because she said, “she’s ready to run like a big girl.”

What types of bodybuilding competitions have you competed in and what are some of the accolades you’ve earned?

2010 NPC North Star: 5th Place Figure B Division.
2011 Gopher State Bodybuilding: 1st Place Lightweight Division, 1st Place Masters Division, 1st Place Overall Champion.

Speaking of accolades, last year you tied Katie Koski for your first Runner of the Year title in the 35-39 age group. Is winning that title one of your goals for the year?
Yes, it is one of my goals for 2011. I was not even aware of my ranking until I received a email with the final standings last year. This year I want to be more involved in the circuit, as it’s motivating and inspiring to be involved in this friendly and local competition. I thrive on the hometown environment, so the MDRA Grand Prix and the USATF Minnesota Team Circuit races are a perfect fit for my running schedule.

What other goals do you have for the year?
Maintain my health and injury free status. My big goal, with special thanks to the connection from Perry Bach, I recently started training with Ben Kampf, who is also on the Run N Fun racing team. Together we are collaborating a plan to run a PR at the 2011 Twin Cities Marathon. Next spring I have the notion to return to North Dakota as I’m a huge fan of Fargo. I will definitely be training towards an improved performance for the 2012 Fargo Marathon. Depending on the timing of events, I’d like to revisit bodybuilding or a new division in the physique competition, stay tuned.

What are your PRs and how much can you bench press?
Ok this makes me laugh! My bench press ranges from 120 – 150 lbs in my non-marathon season. During marathon program, my strength training is focused on function, not weight, to assist in my need for speed to reach the finish line faster.

In a running life a long, long time ago I ran 2:42 at the 1995 Chicago Marathon and then ran 2:48 at the 1996 Olympic Marathon Trials. Those are my favorite PR’s.

My Minnesota PRs
Mile 5:14
5k 18:37
10K 38:07
½ Marathon 1:25:40
Marathon 3:00:33

What is your favorite race distance?
I do not have a favorite distance, as I appreciate the challenge each distance has to offer. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to compete in track events and also to be able hold my own in the marathon.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strength is my strength. My weakness is mileage base as I don’t have the depth of distance that many marathoners log each week. If my endurance falls apart during a race, I’ll attempt to muscle my way through the final few miles and hope for the best.

What is your fondest memory from running?
My fondest PR memory was completing my first marathon at Chicago and qualifying for the trials on the same day. Honestly, I have fond memories of every race, the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m honored to be on the course with my running friends, to see my family along the way or from the stage and waving them the Hi-5, and then being able to call my mom on the way home the share my experience because I know she’d be there if she could. My fondest moments of accomplishment is making it to the final stretch or final call out knowing that all those mornings, miles and all that chicken, asparagus and sweet potatoes was worth it.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Presently, I am privileged to be a part of the Minnesota running community. I’ve met so many amazing people of all paces, from organizers, volunteers, pacers and racers who I can’t begin to thank for making this sport an experience that gets better each mile.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
That it’s ok and actually recommended to have more than one pair of running shoes.

BRIAN PETERSON

2010-05-09T06:43:00.004-05:00

If there was an award for Most Improved Runner in Minnesota, Brian Peterson would probably run away with it - both literally and figuratively. Consider this, at the 2009 TCM, the 25-year-old Minneapolis resident, PR'd by 23 minutes when he ran 2:58. Then he PR'd by another 22 minutes this spring when he won the Olathe Marathon in Kansas in 2:36. He simply followed that up the following week with a victory at the Trail Mix 50K in 3:16. Brian’s improvements may not be typical, however, it shows what can happen when you put in a lot of hard work. It’s the kind of story I like to think about every time I read the latest how-to-run-fast-on-3-days-a-week article. Read more about his progression as a runner below, including the first-ever Running Minnesota personal ad. (Photo courtesy of Brian.)

How did you first get involved with running?
I was a tennis player in high school, and didn’t pick up running at all until about halfway through college. I ran the 2006 Fargo Half Marathon as my first real race. Since I’m a pretty hard working, stubborn, and committed guy by nature, I decided distance running just might be worth a shot.

Since you’re relatively new to running, can you give us a brief recap of your rather rapid marathon progression?
I was 22 years old and a senior at the U of M when I ran my first of six marathons so far – the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon. I had no idea what to expect, ended up running a 3:48, and was happy to finish. Each of the three marathons that followed over the next year and a half was a little better than the one before. The second was the 2007 Fargo Marathon in 3:38, the third was the 2007 TCM in 3:33, and then I went back to Fargo and ran 3:21 in 2008.

Then after about a year and a half, a lot of miles, and a few 50 milers and 50Ks, I gave another run at TCM last fall with the optimistic goal of breaking 3 hours, and somehow hung on for 2:58 with the pacing help of a couple good friends. Then, just this past April I ran a 2:36 at the Olathe Marathon in Kansas.

Do you realize it’s not really normal for a sub-3 hour marathoner to drop their PR by 22 minutes – especially in just 6 months? What do you attribute your improvement to?
Yeah I think those days of marathon PRs by 20+ minutes have come to a very abrupt end, but the last couple races have been a blast for sure. I feel like my improvement so far can be attributed to three things, the first of which I think have made the next two even possible:

1. Just over a year ago at the Chippewa 50K, I ran for a while with this random guy named Erik Lindstrom. Before he ran on ahead, he invited me to run trails with his buddy Joe’s Group on Friday mornings. Now a year later, I can honestly say most anything I ever accomplish in running I will attribute to this really great group of guys who took me under their wing, make training fun, and help me out more than they know.

2. Volume. This was the one-word piece of advice I got on a training run last June, and I have just been racking up miles since then. It turns out that the six or seven months of 80 to 100+ mile weeks and running every day really pays off.

3. Keeping running fun and loving the sport for all its perfection and simplicity is what makes it all worthwhile. Sure some days are harder than others to roll out of bed, but I can’t say I’ve ever once regretted going for a run. So I just do it more often now.

Your 2:36 win at Kansas is impressive, however, running 3:16 at the Trail Mix 50K the following weekend is even more impressive. Even with your increased volume, did you know you had those kinds of performances in you?
I had no idea if I could hang on to the pace for those races, but I told myself there was only one way to find out.

Olathe was my one shot at a marathon this year, so I was pretty determined to go all out and see what I had. My training told me I had a long-shot at low 2:40s, but logic told me I was a 2:58 marathoner and that it wasn’t possible. It never even crossed my mind that sub-2:40 was in play, but I just ended up going out faster than planned, felt good, kept it steady, enjoyed it, and held on one mile at a time.

As for Trail Mix, I signed up a few days before the race as a long training run, but turns out that’s easier said than done when the race is on. It was a perfect day, the course was a bit faster this year, and I apparently recovered much better than I had expected.

You told us about your marathon progression. How about your ultra progression, what’s that been like?
I am still really brand new to this ultra stuff, so hopefully I have a lot of progressing to do in the next several years. I ran my first ultra at the Superior 50 Mile in September 2008. I literally had no idea what to expect or if I could even finish. I started off real slow in the back half of the pack, and somehow ended up in first place by about mile 40 or so and held on for the win. It was the first time I ever even considered running to be something I could possibly be competitive in at any level; the thrill of the race and competition definitely got me hooked.

I’ve done five 50Ks and two more 50 milers since that race. I know I’ve gotten better, but it will be really hard to measure improvement until I start doing the same races multiple times. I still feel like I have a whole lot to prove to myself in ultras, and the next four months should be a good test for me at varied distances and types of courses and trails.

Do you prefer the trails over the roads?
Even though the road running over the past few months has been more fun than I could have ever imagined, I think there will always be something about the trails that can’t be replaced. I am planning to spend a lot of time running in the next many years, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than on some of the most challenging trails in the most beautiful places in the country.

What’s your favorite road race? Trail race?
I haven’t done very many road races, but so far it has got to be the Twin Cities Marathon. It was my first marathon and first sub-3 hour marathon, both of which will always be great memories.
The Superior Trail 50 Miler is my favorite trail race. For some reason – despite all the rocks, roots, relentless hills, falling down, etc. – that trail will always have a special place in my heart.

What races do you have planned in 2010 and what are your goals?
I’m planning on most of the rest of the year to be spent on the trails. Here is what’s still to come that I know of so far:

· Superior 50K (May 15)
· Kettle 100K (June 5)
· Afton 50K (July 3)
· Voyageur 50 Mile (July 24)
· Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile (September 10-11)

As for time goals, I really don’t have a clue. It’s hard to set specific goals for distances and courses I’ve never done. I am just going to keep having fun training, run a lot of hill repeats, and come race time run as hard as I can.

What are your PRs?
I haven’t even done a 5K or 10K yet, but here are the distances I’ve raced so far:

· 50 Mile: 8:26:00
· 50K: 3:16:51
· Marathon: 2:36:49
· Half Marathon: 1:53:35 (it’s been a while)
· 7 Mile: 39:15
· 1 Mile: 5:10

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
One strength is that I seem to be pretty durable so far. I’m always a little paranoid about getting injured, but so far have never even had so much as a blister. Another is that I enjoy the training now more than ever and seem to have the patience and right mindset for the sport.

As for weaknesses, I don’t have very good form, am probably not the most efficient, and have never considered myself to be much of a natural-born athlete. I guess I’m sort of a scrappy runner.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Well, she’d have to be single, somewhere around 25 years old, easy to talk to, fun and adventurous, loves to run. Apparently though, long trail races and 5 AM training runs are not helping my chances…

In all seriousness though, one Minnesotan who I would enjoy going for a run with is Alan Page. He’s been a dedicated tuba-playing fan for those three great adventures through at TCM. More importantly though, he was one of a couple people who inspired me to run my first ultra. He probably wouldn’t remember this, but I was at a dinner with him and a few others a couple years ago now, and he was telling me stories then about running marathons while in the NFL, and this crazy long race up north called the Edmund Fitzgerald. About a week later, I sent in my registration for the 2008 Superior 50 Mile.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I think figuring this sport out as you go is all part of the fun, but I have learned a couple things that will hopefully help me in the future. First, I have realized that you are only as good a runner as you let yourself believe you are, and the best way to race is to not think too much, run your heart out, and see what happens. Most importantly, I have learned the importance of finding ways to make running fun and loving the sport. For me, that really started a couple years ago when I discovered the trails, and has continued with a great group of friends I am lucky to train with and luckier to know.

CHRIS ERICHSEN

2010-04-16T12:55:00.003-05:00

Is it possible to finish 3rd in the Minnesota Runner of the Year rankings any more quietly than Chris Erichsen did in 2009? The 2007 MIAC Athlete of the Year didn't win a single race, yet he was consistent at events ranging from 1-mile to the half marathon. Perhaps his best race of the season was his 1:07:33 at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. If 2009 was a solid season, then 2010 appears to be even better. At the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL, home of the U.S. 15K Championships, Erichsen placed 25th in 46:38. To give that time some perspective, it is 19 seconds faster than the Minnesota state record that Mike Reneau set last year. And at the Human Race 8K, the 24-year-old St. Paul resident posted a 22-second victory in 23:57. Look for him to make his marathon debut in Fargo next month. (Photo courtesy of Gene Niemi.)

Well, I think it’s safe to say that 2010 is off to a good start for you? Are you happy with how you raced at Gate River 15K and at Human Race 8K? If you had to pick one, which race were you more pleased with?
I’m definitely happy with how the season has started for me. Anytime you PR in four straight races to start a season, you know it’s going well. I was actually on the track for a few 3Ks in February, as a few of my goals for the year were a) to get back on the track and b) to race more often. I only ended up doing eight or nine races in all of 2009 and I realized that if I was going to keep running, I needed to enjoy race day a little more often.

I would say I was more pleased with Gate River. It was almost on par with my race at the TC 10 last fall, but considering the winter we had it was a bit of a surprise.

No matter what pace you race at, it’s hard to knock 10-11 seconds off per mile. Yet somehow you were able to improve that much from the 5:00 pace you ran last year. What is different about your training this year that allowed you to knock off 53 seconds off your time over 8K?
Last year I started the season with the Human Race. I wasn’t quite as far along in my training cycle as I was this year, mostly due to when my key races are on the calendar. I’ve also been able to focus on running some faster workouts to get in race shape. The weather so far this spring has been a big reason for that, but I also think that last year was sort of a test period to see how much mileage I could handle with work. Now that I know the volume I can do, I’ve been able to add back some of the tempo runs and track workouts.

What goals do you have for the rest of the year? Any long-term goals in mind that you’d like to share?
I have several goals for the rest of 2010. First, I’d like to run a pretty significant PR in the 10K. My next race is actually a 10K on the track at Hamline, so I think that will set me up really well to run fast. I’d also like to run a solid marathon at Fargo in May. Right now I’m not exactly sure what “solid” means, but if I can run a time indicative of my current fitness, I’ll be happy. Finally, I want to put myself in a position to run well during the Fall season. Over the past two years I’ve struggled a little bit putting everything together. I’ve run well here and there, but I haven’t been able to peak for a key race yet.

It looks like you got involved with running at a young age. When and how did that happen?
I started running track when I was in seventh grade because both of my older sisters had been on the track team and I wanted to stay in shape for my other sports. I started to see some success pretty early on and after just missing out on a trip to the state meet as an eighth grader, I knew it was time to give cross country a shot. I still played basketball throughout high school, but after I graduated I transitioned to year-round running.

I think I saw at least 6 all-American honors in track and I’m guessing you had a couple in cross-country too? What was your career like at St. John’s?
Six on the track, but just the one in cross country. My career at Saint John’s wasn’t extremely atypical. I started running middle distance events my freshman year, as I was primarily an 800-1600 guy coming in. I ran my first 5K on the track as a sophomore, my first steeplechase as a junior and my first 10K as a senior. The only race I ended up running all four years was the 1500.

We had some very good teams over the course of my career. We won the MIAC track meet my freshman and junior year and the cross country meet my junior and senior years. We also had some great results at the national meet, placing 5th in cross country at the ’06 meet and 4th in track in ’07. These were definitely high points from my time in school.

It looks like you weren’t afraid to run anything from the 1500m to the steeplechase to the 5000m. Did you have a favorite event?
I really enjoyed the 5K, especially at the national meets. They were never the fastest races, but there were unique aspects to every race. There is something about a race at the end of a three day meet, when you know a lot of the runners are going to be tired from other races, but there are also going to be some coming in fresh. It makes things very interesting heading into the race, since you don’t really know what to expect.

How come we don’t see more MIAC guys making the transition from college runner to road racer? What advice would you give to people that may be trying to make that transition? How did you have to adjust your schedule to fit in work and training?
I think there are quite a few MIAC runners that make the transition to road racing, but recently it seems that a lot of them aren’t in Minnesota right after they graduate. The MN road racing archives are filled with old MIAC guys, so it can certainly happen.

I don’t know if I’m in the best position to be giving advice, but I feel like if it’s important enough, you will make it work. My schedule looks a little different now than it did a few years ago. One thing I’ve had to adjust with my training is the length of my daily runs. I double quite a bit more now than I used to. It is easier to run for an hour in the morning and at night than to try to find time to fit in a 12-15 miler before or after work. Obviously, I wake up earlier now, but I’ve been on that schedule for 2 years so it’s almost old hat.

While you’ve made the transition, it looks like you took a year off and traveled to a lot of cool places. Where were some of the places you went and which was your favorite?
I actually lived in Galway for about three months after I finished school. I deferred my start date for work until September, so I was able to travel around Europe for the summer. I went to Scotland, England, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria and Germany, but my favorite place was Ireland. It was a little difficult not to run too much while I was over there. I didn’t have a ton going on and running was an easy way to get around and see a lot of different things.

Are you coaching yourself now and how would you describe your training philosophy?
I guess I am coaching myself now. My training philosophy is to put the mileage in and run as many workouts as I have the mental energy for. I haven’t always been a high mileage guy, but I’ve found my body allows me to handle it, so I do it. I think getting out the door to run is the easy part.

What are your PRs?

800 – 1:53
1500 – 3:52
3000 – 8:19
SC – 9:01
5K – 14:25
8K– 23:57
10K – 30:50
15K – 46:37
10M – 49:55
½ Marathon – 66:51

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
One of my strengths is my internal clock, especially on the track. I’m usually able to find a pace and run it consistently throughout a race or workout. I also think I’ve been able to stay healthy over the long-term. Regardless of my mileage, my body has been able to hold up pretty well.

I think I could give myself more thoughtful rest periods. I struggle to shut it down at the end of a season, especially if I’ve been racing well.

What is your fondest running memory?
Fortunately there have been enough great memories that depending on when or where you ask me, my answer might be different. For now I would have to say the MIAC cross country meet my junior year. We knew that it was going to be close with Hamline, which it was. They ran well, we ran well. I think the top six guys were all from Saint John’s or Hamline. As everybody was coming in, we weren’t really sure who won. We started hearing whispers that we might have pulled it off, but when we found out for sure it was pretty special.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I’d like to run with a few of my old coaches. I would do a long run with my coach at Saint John’s, Tim Miles, and I’d do a track workout with my high school cross country coach, Brian Hoff.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
Long runs are usually a good thing; enjoy them.

ED ROUSSEAU

2010-04-08T20:33:00.007-05:00

While it's great to interview all the super-fast local runners, this is one of the interviews that I love the most. Ed Rousseau has a lot of character, he's extremely passionate about running and, if you consider ultras "crazy", he's done some really crazy stuff - like a 6-Day race where he ran more miles than my biggest month ever! And although he's been running for 30 years, the 70-year-old Minneapolis resident still has some long-term goals he'd like to achieve, like finishing he's 50th TCM when he's 92. Short-term there's national 70-74 age-group record for 12 hours and 100K in Madison this weekend. (Photo courtesy of Asha Shoffner. NOTE: Normally I like to crop the photos down and just focus on the interviewee. However, I really love this photo. I love how Ed is gritting his teeth, but I also love the look on #449's face. I think we've all had that how-is-that-person-beating-me look on our face at one point or another. )

I read somewhere that you got involved with running because you literally saw someone go running by your house as you looked out the window. Is that true?
Yes, in the real sense. I had returned from living and working in Iran from 1974 to early 1979 when the revolution forced us to leave. Running had come out of nowhere while I was gone and become almost a fad. It surprised me to see runners going by (men, women, all sizes and shapes). So old macho Ed, too old and heavy and slow for my early sports, like basketball, now felt confident that I could run as good as other folks. So out came the 20-year-old basketball shoes and sweat pants and I began with a foolish sprint around the block. The only problem was that I was out of breath by halfway. But the next day I tried to go even further. I knew nothing about running, other than hearing about the Boston Marathon. In my little town in Michigan’s U.P., there was no track or cross-country, only basketball and baseball.

You were an alcoholic at the time. Is running what led you to give up drinking? How do you think your life would be different without running?
I was carrying a beer belly, had just quit smoking and I’d just lost my mother to emphysema due to a lifetime of smoking. As a practicing alcoholic, progressing over the years, the consequences (physical health, social, and legal problems) came to a serious point and I went into treatment at the same time. I was enlightened and learned so much about myself and what I now saw as a family disease – this compulsive addiction to wanting a high and a higher high, whether from alcohol, gambling or whatever. My so called social drinking was indeed much more than simple social drinking.

You’ve been running for 30 years and sober for 26 years, so it sounds like it took a few years before you were able to completely switch from one to the other. Would you say you replaced on addiction with another?
First, as my running moved along from that first short run around the block, I lost weight and got healthier. Each new distance was a higher high and over 30 years it’s gone from a trip around the block to multiple day ultras. I was getting my high needs met through running. As the years passed, I got somewhat competitive in my age group and the competitive juices kicked in. Within several months I did my first 10K and it was much too soon. I was coaxed by co-workers as my company had a running group. I was totally ignorant and ended up running Get in Gear in my basketball shoes and sweats. I got quite a lesson with blistered feet and cramped calves during the 59 minutes it took to finish.

I slowly grew faster over the years and at age 45, I ran my best 10K in 38:40. I now wonder how old I’ll be when my 10K times creep back up and over that original 59 minutes.

Anyway, my sobriety ended a year after treatment. I had done nothing to maintain it; no meetings with other alcoholics to share stories and reinforce our resolve, no readings, no working the improvements steps to maintain my life as a sober person. At a family Thanksgiving dinner a year later, I participated in a family tradition of a small toast. That did it! I knew I was cured. Within a few weeks I visited with some after work buddies and my relapse was on and it didn’t end for over 3 years. I kept running and eating right and losing excess weight, and racing better times. However, many of my morning runs were to get rid of a hangover.

Another drinking and driving incident happened in late September of 1983, just before the Twin Cities Marathon. Ironically, I ran a PR because of my improved running, but my last hangover resulted in degraded performance. Since then I have worked a day by day sobriety program with many friends wherever I go. I found that like all the other alcoholics, I have ‘alcoholISm’, not ‘alcoholWASm’! We arrest this disease, we don’t cure it.

How many marathons and ultras have you competed in and what are some of your most memorable running accomplishments?
I’ve finished over 80 marathons and over 70 ultras. That first TCM in 1982 was a special moment, as was my first Boston Marathon in 1985, my first ultra which was the Edmund Fitz 100K in 1987, my first FANS 24 hour, and my first 6-day race in New York.

I’ve had some age group wins and some state and national age group records, but most of all, I’m blessed with the many friends I’ve made in all the races from the smallest July 4th race in the smallest town to the races at the National level. I look forward to going to many events because it’s like a family reunion. Those running friends range from a young man in a rural town with Down Syndrome who tries so hard for a PR in each July 4th race to some extremely successful runners like Dick Beardsley, Billy Mills and Yiannis Kouros. They all train and push to be their best and they’re all so humble and friendly on a personal level.

Are their similarities between being an alcoholic and running ultra marathons?
Definitely. We want the higher high, the runner’s high. One distance is not enough and going further pulls us. If I have a running injury and can’t get out there to run, I go to extra meetings with my recovering alcoholic friends to get an attitude adjustment.

One of the races you competed in each fall was the Ed Fitz 100K. Since that race no longer exists, what have you replaced it with?
I loved that race. Being in late October, the weather was a welcome challenge as it could be a nice crisp fall day or sleet and snow. And there was an incredible award ceremony where we honored the 29 lost sailors from that ship. ALARC put on a real special event. I’ve replaced it with a 48 hour or 72 hour race in early November. So the hole has been filled.

What are some of your other must-do races each year?
I have finished all 28 TCMs and run all 20 of the FANS 24 hour events. I love to do as many of the MDRA Grand Prix races as I can. I’m not one with speed, so I’ve been a bridesmaid many times, but never a Grand Prix winner. I keep kidding MDRA to get rid of the 1-mile races and replace them with a few 50K or 50 milers.

What are your goals for 2010 now that you’re in a new age-group?
Though I was in top shape a few weeks ago from snowshoe training and races, along with other training and weekly long runs of 30 or more miles, my exuberance got me a bit of a hamstring issue. I overdid my intervals one week. However, I’d planned on going after the 70-74 year old national 12 hour and 100K records in Madison on April 10th. There are possibly 6 national age-group records I’d like to go after in the Cornbelt 24 hour track race in early May. Later in the year I’d like to go after the 100 mile and 24 hour records at the nationals 24 hour road race. I may not get any of the records, as there are so many variables in an ultra, but I will always prepare and try my best.

Any long-term goals you’d like to share?
You know, mentally I pinch myself, not believing what the last 30 years have brought me in health, friends and running enjoyment. So it’s a day at a time and being thankful. But we all need a visio; a carrot on a stick. To that end it would be nice if I could finish my 50th consecutive Twin Cities Marathon at age 92. There are lingering dreams of doing my first 10 day race. If there were more days in a month and more months in a year, I’d progress toward finishing a marathon or ultra in all 50 states.

What are your PRs?

5K - 18:45
10K 38:40
Half: 1:24 (TCM split)
Marathon: 2:57 (1984 TCM)
100K: 9:21
100 Miles: 18:56
12 Hour: 70.2 Miles
24 Hour: 121 Miles
48 Hour: 166 Miles
72 Hour: 215 Miles (6-Day split)
6-Day: 384 Miles

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
My overall strengths come in a simple way, from my Christian faith to be the best person that I can be. My sobriety program has converted a problem to a solution and keeps me on an even keel regardless what the challenge. In running, my body’s ability to not have any prolonged and major breakdowns over almost 60,000 miles since that first trip around the block. The gift of being able to break the longest race or training run into the smallest little segments with little goals that keep my interest as the hours go by. I’ve been told that I can take pain, and maybe that is true as I find myself being on the course longer than other runners in the multi-day races. One physical weakness - lack of speed. One weakness I work on daily - impatience.

Finally, what do you wish you had known when you first started running?
The basic stuff that is now taught in the new runner training classes because I could have prevented a lot of those strained muscle experiences. Otherwise, like all areas of life; we are here to learn, grow and improve on a daily basis. Somebody once said, “wisdom is what you have some 30 years after you thought you knew it all.”

[Editor's note: Ed did indeed set a 70-74 age group record for 12 hours when he covered over 57 miles in Madison. He finished the 100K race 12:58:16.]

JENNIFER HOUCK

2010-03-07T18:56:00.004-06:00

Perhaps no local road racer has improved more over the last three years than Jennifer Houck. Her first year after graduating from the College of St. Scholastica, she placed 18th in the Minnesota Runner of the Year rankings. Then two years later, in 2009, the 25-year-old claimed top honors in the rankings. Houck appears to have carried her fitness into 2010 as well. At the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January, she PRd in 1:15:53. Next up for the Duluth resident is a trip to Jacksonville, FL next weekend for the Gate River 15K. Below she talks about her transition from college runner to road racer, her goals for the new year, and explains how she applies information on lactic acid into her training. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba.)

First off, congrats on your 2009 season. You were able to win Runner of the Year honors, set numerous PRs, and earn a MEADP grant along the way. Were you happy with your season? Were there any goals that you didn’t achieve?
Thank you! Yes, I was very happy with the last season. Every race went as good as I could have hoped, with the exception of the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. I PRed in every distance I ran last year, but the half marathon. I think the only bad day for running in Duluth last year happened to be June 20th, but thankfully I was able to get the half marathon PR out of the way early in the 2010 season. The MEADP grant was definitely a highlight. The support of the grant will help me to pursue my 2010 running goals. I am extremely thankful for all those helping me pursue my goals. I feel very lucky to have so many great people supporting and believing in me.

2010 has started off great too, with a sub-1:16 at Houston. Were you surprised by those results at all?
I knew I was fit going into Houston, but I didn’t know how I would race in January and definitely wasn’t expecting to run a sub 1:16 half marathon, my previous best was a 1:19:21. The last few years I have focused on base building during the winter months. This winter I did more structured/focused training. Chad Salmela (my coach) felt that our training was indicating that I would run near 1:17. Race day everything fell into place (including me onto my face during my warm-up). Chad and I are very happy to be where we are at this early in the year with my fitness.

I’m always curious when Minnesotans run so well in the middle of winter. What has your training been like this winter to help you achieve those early season results?
Face masks, warm clothes, hand warmers, headlamps, and frostbite! Coming out of the Twin Cities Marathon I had a month of easy, unstructured running, but did not detrain like I have done in previous years. Over the last 4 years I have gradually been building mileage and intensity, and finally felt that after Twin Cities I did not need a break as I have in years past. I was doing a lot of base training, but focused additional weeks on threshold and max VO2 development leading up to Houston.

What goals do you have for the rest of the year?
My ultimate goal is to continue to improve. I haven’t yet seen a plateau in my fitness since focusing on my training with Chad after my collegiate running career, and am interested to see how fast I can go! My focus for this year is to achieve the Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying standard in either the marathon (sub 2:46) or half marathon (sub 1:15). My next attempt will be at the Boston Marathon, followed by the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, and finishing the racing year with the Chicago Marathon. I will probably run a couple short tune-up races, but won’t be racing as much this year as I did in 2009 allowing me to complete more marathon specific training runs.

Okay, let’s back up a bit. When and how did you get involved with running?
I first started running in the 7th grade in the spring running track and field. The following year I went out for the cross-country running team because my older sister (she was the first female runner at our school) was on the team. I continued with both track and field and cross-country through my senior year. In track I was a mid-distance runner and primarily ran the 800, 4x800, and 4x400. I didn’t run much outside of track/cross- country running as I played basketball in the winter. In the summers I would occasionally run 2 miles to a lake near our house, but 4 miles was the farthest I would go. I never qualified for a state meet in high school. I have great memories of high school running.

What was your career like at St. Scholastica?
I actually ran my first year at St. Cloud State University, but transferred after deciding on a major. At St. Scholastica, I raced 3 years of cross-country, and 3.5 years of track. I finished my cross-country collegiate career with an 18:53 5km PR at regionals, which was a 30 second improvement for me. I was the women’s assistant coach the following fall after Steve Pfingsten, the head coach, approached me and asked if I’d be interested in helping out. I was excited to help out with the team as I still had many friends competing. Additionally, it kept me motivated to train as I still had an outdoor track season of eligibility left.

While acting as an assistant coach, I met my current coach, Chad Salmela, who was newly hired as the head Nordic skiing, assistant cross-country and assistant track coach at St. Scholastica. He told me I should use my last semester of eligibility for outdoor track as he saw potential in me. I’m glad he did as I qualified provisionally for both the 5k (17:35) and 10k (36:21), and ended up competing in the 10k at the DIII NCAA Track and Field Championships. The times that I ran were minutes faster than I ever thought I’d ever be capable of running.

Since graduating, you’ve moved up the Runner of the Year rankings each of the last three years, going from 18th to 3rd to 1st. What do you attribute your improvement to?
I attribute my improvement to consistence and patience with my training. We have been gradually increasing my mileage and intensity the last few years. I trust and believe in the training that I am doing. I cycle my training and I have at least one day off every week, sometimes two depending on the focus for the week. I never have a training week identical to the previous. I think the cycling of my training and incorporation of rest days has helped keep me healthy, dedicated and motivated to the sport. The training I am completing has allowed me to push myself to a higher level of fitness each year without breaking down or burning out.

I tend to think that making the transition from college runner to road racer is a lot harder than people think. It seems like there are a lot of great collegiate runners that never make that transition. What advice would you give to people that may be in that situation?
Early collegiately I wasn’t planning on making that transition. After my final track season I decided to make the transition, as I wanted to continue to improve. When I started road racing I had a hard time finding races to focus on, as I didn’t know what races were out there. In college all my races were lined up, having the responsibility to select races to train for was overwhelming. There are so many out there! My advice is to determine what your racing goals are for the year and look for races to meet those goals. Surround yourself with individuals who can help you make the transition positive.

You still live in Duluth where there are a lot of great runners. Are you able to train with any one else?
I do train with other Duluthians as much as I can. Duluth has a wonderful running community and I am very happy to be a part of it! I am usually able to find a running partner at least once a week, especially for a long run on the weekend. A quick shout out to those who I’ve been able to train with: Brent Smith, Andy Prevost, Greg Hexum, Katie & Jess Koski, James Mullenix, David Hyponnen, Alex Tuttle, Chris Rubesch, Joe Stromsness, and Jason Kask. Apologies to those I’m forgetting!

How would you describe your training philosophy?
Train smart, take days off and don’t train statically. I don’t worry about mileage. I have a different focus each week with my training. One week I may run 120 miles and the next I may only run 50-60, depending on the training focus. I actually don’t train by miles either, I train by hours/time spent training. This definitely saves time on calculating running distances!

For my threshold/race pace workouts I take lactates. Taking lactates allows me to adjust workouts as needed and helps structure training for future runs. Lactate testing is a foreign concept for many people, but I believe that it adds a scientific element that really helps me dial in my training zones. As humans increase intensity and go into oxygen deficit, lactic acid is produced as a by-product of anaerobic metabolism. Thus, allowing me to get a glimpse into how aerobic or anaerobic my current pace is.

In order to find my training zones a lactate profice must be taken. To do this, I run 4 minutes on a treadmill, starting slower than an easy training pace. After earch 4 minute interval a small blood sample is taken and placed in a LactatePro Analyzer, which measure lactic acid levels. Each subsequent interval pace is increased by 1 mile per hour and then 0.5 mile per hour as I near thresold pace. I continue running intervals until I can't finish the next one. Throughout the test my heart rate, lactic acid, pace and perceived effort is logged and then converted into a graph. The graph can then be used to calculate my basic endurance, developmental endurance, anaerobic threshold, and race pace heart rate ranges.

At any time during a workout I can take my lactate level and adjust my intensity bast on the results. Since my heart rate is graphed along side the lactate levels, I also use my heart rate to gauge what zone I am in. The use of a heart rate monitor has also helped me from running my easy runs too hard, something I know I used to do. And above all else, I make sure to have fun with the sport.

What are your PRs?

Mile: 5:01
5k: 17:09
5 miles: 28:30
10k: 35:41
10 miles: 57:52
Half: 1:15:53
Marathon: 2:47:38

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I am a strong uphill runner, but a weak downhill runner. I also know that I am able to finish races stronger when I start conservatively. Starting conservatively is something that I’ve had to and continue to work on every race. I’m starting to get better at it, my biggest PRs have come in races were I’ve ran negative splits.

What is your fondest running memory?
My fondest running memories are my provisional qualifying races in the 5k and 10k and running at the NCAA Championships. Each of the qualifying races were significant PRs, and I started to realize that my specific and focused training was allowing me to compete at a new level.

I also really enjoyed our “parade” runs in high school for cross-country. The day before a meet, the team would run down the main street and back. Nobody but us knew we were “parading”!

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Two people that I really enjoy training with from the Northland are Brent Smith and Andy Prevost. I met Andy first as he was the assistant cross-country coach my first year of running at St. Scholastica. I met Brent Smith the following year after I started dating his son, Reid. Brent and Andy have been running partners for a number of years now. I was “accepted” into their running group a few years ago starting out finishing the “JV” workouts (not quite making the full varsity distance). My long runs first started with these two. I can always count on them for an entertaining long run (and I hope that if Brent takes a day off every once in a while he’ll stay healthy enough to run with me for many more years)! They have been and continue to be important running mentors to me.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
That it was okay in high school to be content with running 1 or 2 miles and calling it day. I think running short and easy for many years in high school has been a factor in preserving my love for running. Running for me has always been enjoyable. It was never forced on me and there were never any expectations pushed on me. My intense training did not start until I was emotionally and physically mature enough to handle it. My high school coach also told me something that I fully believe in, “remember no matter how good you become as a runner, you will always be a better person.”

ANTONIO VEGA

2010-02-22T12:33:00.003-06:00

It’s still only February, but Team USA Minnesota’s Antonio Vega is off to a fast start this year. On January 17th, the Tartan High school and University of Minnesota alum, won his first U.S. title at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston. The 26-year-old PR’d by just over a minute to finish in 1:01:54, holding off teammate Patrick Smyth by 7 seconds. Now his has his sights set on the Boston Marathon, where he believes he can run 2:12.

First off, congratulations on your win at Houston. I was trying to think if that makes you the first National Champion for Team USA Minnesota on the men’s side?

Thank you. I am the second national champion from the men’s side. Andrew Carlson won the U.S. 15k championship when he was still a member of the team.

You PR’d at 3000m leading up to Houston. Did that indicate that you were in sub-1:02 shape heading into the race?

The time I ran in the 3000m was indicative that I was fit, which is always reassuring when you are training either on snow and ice or on a treadmill in Minnesota and can’t be certain where your fitness level is. I guess I never attempted to translate that result into an outcome at Houston; nevertheless, I was confident I was in PR shape.

Training though the Minnesota winters can be very difficult. However, Team USA Minnesota has a strong tradition of performing well at Houston, as well as other early season races. What would you attribute that to?
Our coach, Dennis Barker, does a great job of continuously testing all our systems. We never are just in an aerobic or speed phase and so coupled with a large base and the strength gained from some longer fall races (marathons) we usually come away pretty fit.

Vega, Lehmkuhle, Moen, Smyth, Gabrielson... that’s a very strong group of runners. Sounds like the makings of a cross-country team. Will any of you guys be running X-C Nationals?
There will be three of us competing at U.S. cross this year. Matt, Patrick and myself—we should have another strong showing. [Editor’s note: Antonio finished 8th, while Patrick was 2nd and Matt was 10th.]

You are currently training for the Boston Marathon. Do you have any tune up races planned before that?
Races leading up to Boston are U.S. Cross Country, the Gate River Run in Jacksonville in March, and then possibly a 10k the first weekend in April.

You ran TCM each of the last two years. What did you learn from those experiences that you’ll take with you to Boston?
You are never in the clear until you cross the finish line. Blowing up is not out of the question until then.

What are your goals for Boston, the rest of 2010, and any long-term goals?
I believe I can run 2:12 or better at Boston. Right now that is my sole focus.

Do you have favorite distance?
I really enjoy racing the half marathon. It is long enough to lock into a good pace and relax. I also have had the most success at this distance.

What are your PRs?

3k - 8:06
5k - 14:10
10k - 29:00
15k - 44:45
Half - 1:01.54
25k - 1:16.35
Marathon - 2:15

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I am still trying to figure that out.

You’ve been a lifelong resident of the Twin Cities, attending Tartan high school and the U of M. Who have been some of the key influences in your life?
All my coaches that I have had over the last 8 years have been big influences on my life and training.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started running?
That being consistent is the key to success when it comes to running.

RICK KLEYMAN

2010-02-08T12:02:00.002-06:00

Few local runners have been a part of the running scene for as long as Rick Kleyman has. The 70-year-old Plymouth resident has been at it for nearly 55 years. While he may only have one marathon left in him, he doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon. When I asked him his strengths, I thought for sure it say his speed was one of them, as last year he posted mile times of 6:01 and 6:05. Instead, he focused on his ability to stay healthy. I had to track Rick down in Florida for this interview where he's busy running on grass, while we slog through the snow and ice. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of Rick. If someone happens to have one, please email me and I'll include it.

I can’t think of many runners that have been around as long as you have. I hope you take that as a compliment. How and at what age did you get involved with running?
Formally, I went out for cross country my first year in high school at Minneapolis North in the fall of 1955 and have been competing every year since.

Did success come quickly?
Not really, our coach didn't know anything and either did we. One day we ran 2.5 miles nonstop and talked about that the remainder of the season. Our longest race was 1.8 miles those years.

Who were some of your major influences over the years?
We had a group from our high school that went to the U of M and at one time 5 of us ran on the U team. Our leader was John MacCaffery and we followed in his footsteps. Then Ron Daws, who was a year ahead of me at the U - fired us up to continue running after college - something that was not done back in the 50s and 60s. Buddy Edelen was also an influence on my running - he was still training with us after he graduated. Both of course made the Olympics and had books written about them. Unfortunately, both died too young.

The sport of running has obviously changed a lot over the years. What are some of the key changes you’ve observed?
When road racing started in the early 60s a big race had about 50 runners. I would finish about 25th or so. The first big race was Getting In Gear, which started at the old Prudential Building off Highway 12 (now 394). Daytons and the Minneapolis Star really promoted that race and a couple thousand came out for it. I think I finished about 25th again - the same guys beat me as always. After that race people got the bug and things grew from there.

The next biggest thing was when girls started running Track and Cross country in High School then College. Then the growth in running really grew.

One thing that stood out to me as I reviewed some MDRA newsletters from the ‘70s is that there used to be a separate “coach’s race” held in conjunction with the local road races. I believe this was to maintain your amateur status in the eyes of the AAU. Looking back, it seems like an asinine rule. How was it viewed at the time?
Unfortunately, we were the only state that viewed the rule that coaches were professionals. I wrote a letter to the editor of some of the running magazines and asked what coaches in other states did for competition. I got so many letters that said all their coaches were able to run. They said to send them my info and they would get me an AAU card from their state. Ask Paul Noreen about that rule. I ran my first Marathon -City of Lakes and could not finish in the chute - even though I paid and would have finished 8th in 1970. One person ruled the roost on this rule, until he became a competitive coach. Back then Noreen and I were the only competitive running coaches.

As a high school coach, what are some of the key lessons that you’ve tried to teach your runners over the years?
Enjoy your running every day, never exhaust yourself in races or training. Make running a part of your life always for fitness, friendship, and great health - even if you never race.

In general, what is your training philosophy?
I try to follow some of the great coach’s philosophies - Lydiard, VanAken, Cerrutty. A mixture of training is essential to keep away the boredom. I try to incorporate in my training and of my athletes each week. One hill work out a week, one tempo workout, one interval workout, one skills workout, and one long slow workout each week. Younger runners should only run 5 or 6 days per week and older runners up to 7 if they want to. Most running should be on soft surfaces. Only run as much as you feel good - sometimes running great workouts can raise your confidence. Stay injury free most of the time and you should always improve.

What are your PRs?

Track
800 - 2:00.7
1500 - 4:23.3
Mile - 4:30.1
2 mile - 9:59.4
5k - 16:19

Road
5k - 16:05
10K - 32:47
15K - 52:20
10 mile - 55:40
Half - 1:16.24
Marathon - 2:38:47

All the road times were after the age of 40. The last time I ran my age in the 5-minute range was when I was 53 at the Meet of Miles race at the U track when I ran 4:53.4. When I was 57 I ran the Rice St Mile in 4:58.7.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
My strength is that I have been blessed with the health to run each day. In 2009, at the age of 69, I ran 2007 miles and ran 335 of 365 days. I turned 70 on January 30th and this past week I ran 76 miles.

My basic weakness is I am afraid to run hard anymore in races – I don't want to get out of the comfort zone.

You enter 2010 in a new age group (70-74). Does that change how you approach the year? What are you goals for 2010?
Main goal is to stay injury free, which is tough when you are coaching. I try to lead the girls in some of the complex workouts and getting going too fast sometimes leads to injury.

My next race is February 13th. I’m running a 5k cross country race here in Florida. Then March 6th I’m running a 5K road race also in Florida. We come home to Minnesota on March 14th. I will be coaching again at Armstrong as an Assistant. I was a head coach there for 33 years and the past 7 as an assistant at Wayzata with the girls program. March 26-28th I am registered for the national Masters indoor track meet in Boston; 3000m Friday, mile Saturday, and 800m Sunday. Except for track races, I try to run only one road race per month. In June, July, and August I don’t race longer than a mile. When I hold on to that schedule, I usually do okay. If I run the marathon (Twin Cities) again this year, it will be my last one. Half marathons are a lot easier on my body.

What does it take for you to stay motivated every year?
Not much - I just like to run fast and see what I can do and see if I can run as fast as the previous year.

What is your fondest running memory?
Running 2:38 at the Twin Cities Marathon at the age of 42. I never thought I could run that fast. I ran 1:21 - 1:17 splits.

Do you have a favorite local race?
Anoka Gray Ghost 5k

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Jim Day. I wish he could get healthy again to be able to run. We were College teammates and are still great friends. He was running well again until 2 years ago and I think he needs a new hip.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
If any of us in the 1950s knew what mileage meant, we would have run so much faster.

KATHY PETERSON

2010-01-31T09:31:00.005-06:00

When it comes to setting state age records in Minnesota over the last two years, not many people have been more successful than Kathy Peterson. Last year the soon-to-be 67-year-old from Outing, MN ran 7:30 for the mile, 1:22:19 for 10 miles, and 1:56:36 for half marathon. In the process she won her second consecutive Runner of the Year title and fifth title overall (1989, 1990, 2006, 2008 and 2009). (Photo of Kathy (left) along with friend and rival, Marilyn Schnobrich.)

First off, the question everyone wants to know, where in the world is Outing, MN? What is the running scene like there?
Outing is located 45 miles northeast of Brainerd. My husband and I have owned our property in Outing since 1973. We spent most of our weekends in Outing before we made the permanent move from Brooklyn Center in 1997. For that reason, it was difficult for me to run races in the Twin Cities. Sometimes I would run a race on Saturday morning and then head up north.

I would say the running scene is almost non-existent in Outing. There is one annual race in Outing, but it is definitely a fun run. There are very few runners in the immediate area. I have to travel for all of the races that I run. A round trip to the Twin Cities is approximately 300 miles, so I don’t run too many races there. I do try to run at least one certified race at each distance up to a half marathon each year. I haven’t run a marathon since 1992.

How and at what age did you get involved with running?
I started running at the age of 38 in 1981. My husband had quit smoking and was putting on weight. We started walking every day. We worked our way up to 5 miles a day and decided that it took way too long to walk that far. That was the beginning of our running career. At first I really struggled because I was on a beta blocker for heart arrhythmias which made running very difficult. I talked to my doctor and got permission to quit the medication and was running quite easily soon after that.

Did success come quickly?
It probably took a year or two before I started placing in my age group. I remember that I took 6 minutes off my 10K time between my first 10K in 1982 and my second in 1983. I have consistently placed in my age group since 1984, occasionally being first woman overall in some of the small races up north. Most of my PRs were run in 1986 and 1987.

To be honest, I didn’t know who you were until two years ago when I was writing a year-end recap for MDRA. Every time I came across your name in the results section of RaceberryJam it said “new State Record”. That trend carried over into 2009 as well. What do you attribute your success to?
This is a hard question to answer, since I didn’t do anything differently in my training. I may have been a couple of pounds lighter than normal. I think that setting goals is an important step and I had decided that I was going to try to break some of the records for 65 - 69 year olds in 2008. I looked up the records for all the distances and kept them posted near my computer. I always knew going into a race what the record was and knew what splits I had to run in order to break it. Since I had to travel to races, I often ran only one race at each distance so I had to go all out at each race.

Are State Records enough to motivate you year-in and year-out?
I am having trouble staying motivated. I run all my training runs alone. I would love to have a training partner to help keep me motivated. My husband and I used to run together all the time but he has a foot problem that has ended his running career.

In general, what is your training philosophy? Do you tend to follow any certain plan?
I have to have the loosest running plan and philosophy out there. I just checked my running log for 2009. I averaged 15.5 miles a week. I generally do not run at all in November and December. When I was running marathons, I followed Jeff Galloway’s training programs. Otherwise, I just go out and run 3 days a week and occasionally throw in a long run, a few ¼ mile repeats or a tempo run. Mostly I use races as my speed work.

How has your training and racing changed over time?
When I first started running, I usually trained about 40-50 miles a week, running 6 days a week. I ran races almost every weekend. As you can see, I have cut my mileage dramatically. It seems that if I try to run more than 15–20 miles per week, I get injured. It takes much longer to recover as a 66-year-old. Naturally, my race times have gotten much slower than they were. I feel as if I am putting in just as much effort as I did in my 40s and 50s.

What are your PRs?

Most of my PRs were set long, long ago in the last century, around 1986 or 1987.
Mile: 5:48
5K 20:43
5 Mile 33:24
10K 42:16
15K 1:10:21
10 Mile 1:18:54
Half Marathon 1:37:04
25K 1:50:01
30K 2:38:19
Marathon 3:24:59

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I had to ask a good friend to help me out with this question. Here is her opinion of my strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths: I am well-organized and a good planner. I am self-disciplined, especially during this period of recovering from an injury. I don’t push myself too hard. I am very competitive, and though I am a loyal friend, all bets are off after the gun sounds.

Weaknesses: I tend to underestimate my own abilities. I rely too much on what other people think.

I heard you sustained a non-running injury recently. Can you tell us about it? How is your recovery going?
Last October, I ruptured the plantaris tendon/muscle in my calf while going downstairs at home. It was by far the most painful injury I have ever incurred. At the time I was training for a half marathon at the Outer Banks, North Carolina. My training was going great and I felt very strong. I ended up going to the half marathon on crutches and watching a friend run. That was very hard. I really wanted to be out there running.

Although my ankle and calf are still slightly swollen, I have no pain and started running again on New Years Day after 10 weeks off.

Does that injury affect your goals for the new year? What are they?
I am hopeful that the injury won’t affect my running in 2010. I am very slow right now but that’s not unusual for this time of the year. I train on a gravel road that remains snow packed and slippery much of the winter. I have to run slowly.

Right now I am trying to get back in shape to run The American Odyssey Relay in Washington D.C., on April 23 and 24. I am on a team called Do Not Go Gentle with 11 other incredible women most of whom have run together for the Hood to Coast, Reach the Beach, Klondike Relay, Great River Relay and the Blue Ridge Relay. All of us are over 60 except one baby in her 50’s.

I also hope to set some state records for 67 year olds this year.

What is your fondest running memory?
It’s hard to pick just one. The first would be Grandma’s Marathon in 1986 where I ran my PR marathon. I was running with a 20 year old friend who wanted me to pace her to run under 4:00. She was the same age as my oldest daughter at the time. We ran 3:24:59!!!

Another highlight was in 2000 when team Do Not Go Gentle broke the course record at the Hood to Coast relay for a 50–59 women’s team.

Last year I was listed in Running Times under honorable mention for 65 – 69 year olds. That was exciting!

Do you have a favorite race?
It’s difficult to choose a favorite but I guess it would be the Ed Fitz. I ran the 50K in 1986 and then ran the team relay for 17 years until it was discontinued.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I have to say it would be Mae Horns. I actually did run with her on one Ed Fitz team and at Rick Kleyman’s adult running group occasionally. She was very impressive as a runner and her grace and dignity in handling ALS was amazing.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I would have known that I would still be running 29 years later and that so many wonderful friendships would be formed by being a runner. My best friends are runners. It turned out that running is more than a sport. It is a way of life. I can’t imagine my life without it.

PATRICK BILLIG

2009-08-16T09:21:00.002-05:00

The argument could be made that Patrick Billig is having the best season of anyone on the roads in Minnesota. The 47-year-old Roseville resident has won his age-group at nearly every distance from 1 mile to the half marathon. At the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, Billig's 1:13:51 placed him a whopping 5:28 in front of his nearest age-group rival. His only blemish this year came at the hands, or legs, of Wisconsin's John Mirth at Get in Gear. It's no surprise that his performances have placed him squarly at the top of the ROY standings for 45-49 year olds. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba.)

When and how did you first get involved with running? Did you run in high school or college? What other sports did you play as a kid?
I did not play many organized sports as a kid. I do have nine brothers and three sisters, so our house was a gathering spot for pick-up games of football, baseball, basketball, etc. I also lived a block away from skating and hockey rinks, so I did a lot of skating and hockey in the winter. I played school basketball through 8th grade and intramural basketball in high school. I played tennis my freshman year of high school, and practiced all summer. I loved tennis, but unlike a lot of my teammates I actually liked the 1-2 miles we had to run before most practices. I decided to go out for cross country in the fall of my sophomore year and then went out for track in the spring.

Would you say you experienced success in running right away or did it take awhile?
I was successful in high school, setting the school record for the 2 mile and I participated on the 4X400 relay school record team. However, I significantly improved throughout college and continued to improve after college.

According to Athlinks.com, all of your early races this year were faster than last year. Actually, your 15:53 at Brian Kraft is your fastest 5K on the list. As a 46-year-old, that’s not typical. What do you attribute your recent times to?
After recovering from a hernia and some other injuries related to a down hill ski fall in 2002 (the year I turned 40), I had four years (2003-06) in a row from age 41-44 where I had great racing and training. My training in 2007-08 was fairly inconsistent, but I was healthy and felt good on my runs. This year my running has been much more consistent, which has led to better performances than the previous two years.

I also noticed a Neal Billig in the Brian Kraft results. Is that your son? If so, how do you handle his involvement in the sport without being an overbearing parent?
Neal is my son – he has always loved running, but also loves lots of other sports. He has played travelling basketball and soccer so he has been too busy to get over involved in running – mostly it has been just for fun. He will be a 9th grader at DeLaSalle HS and plans go out for soccer, basketball & track. My daughter Anne will be in 11th grade at DeLaSalle and has been on the soccer, basketball & track teams. My youngest Lindsay will be a 7th grader at St. Rose School and she participates in competitive gymnastics. I enjoy watching them all and love that they all have interests in athletics along with school and other activities. My wife, Kim also enjoys being physically active and has done many road races including some marathons and triathlons.

The Athlinks list also shows you run a marathon every 3 years or so, whether you need to or not. Do you prefer the shorter races?
Normally I prefer the shorter races – where I can put in lower miles and still be competitive. I have the Marathon bug again this year and plan to run the TCM this fall. I think the shorter races are more about the competition and the marathon is more about the big event and the training.

Last year you tied for Runner of the Year for 45-49 year old men with Peter Kessler. So far this year, you’re leading the way in your age-group. How much do these standing help motivate you?
It’s fun to see the close competition in my age group, where I’ve tied twice & won and lost in some years by 1 and 2 pts. However, I tend to focus my training on a couple of main races a year, such as Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and TC 10 mile and also do the MN TAC team races. My Dad used to say “straights come to those who wait” in Yahtzee. For me this philosophy applies to the Runner of the Year standings, where I do better by focusing on running the races I normally would run rather than trying to fit certain races into my schedule that could potentially bolster my total score.

What are your goals for 2009?
Overall, my goal is still perform well in the overall Masters category (over 40) in addition to doing well in my age group of 45-49. One of my time goals was to get under 16 minutes in the 5K which I got at Brian Kraft.

In general, what is your training philosophy?
I believe in hard/easy training (sometimes when I am really busy the easy days are just days off). After a build-up phase, I like to incorporate long runs, tempo runs, hills, and speed workouts into my training.

A couple of things that I think have kept me healthy in my 40s is taking days off (I almost always take off Mondays) and running relatively low miles. I also started lifting heavy weights once a week (with Discover Strength) to strengthen my legs, arms & core.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I can be a strong finisher in races and mentally tough in races. I once (in my much younger days) closed with a 2:00 for 800 meter in a 3000m race and only took off with 600 meters to go. It is tougher to red line and go deep into the well as I get older, but I appreciate the feeling of being fit and pushing my body in races.

I am not so good at running a solo effort – I admire runners that excel at solo efforts!

One strength is that a have not had very many long term running related injuries.

What are your PRs (all-time and Masters)?

All-Time:
1 mile: 4:12
5K: 14:24
10K: 29:56
25K: 1:20
Marathon: 2:26

Masters:
1 mile: 4:31
5K: 15:28
10K: 31:55
½ marathon: 1:10
Marathon: 2:35

What is your fondest running memory?
I have many very fond running memories (some of these memories are related to the beer I had after the run). I have always loved running and especially the camaraderie of running with others. As I have gotten older, I seem to more fully appreciate the joy of training runs such as: on the beach in Hawaii last summer; in the woods through 4-6” of fresh winter snow; in the spring rain; in the woods in the crisp fall air with the crunch of leaves under my feet; in the moon light on a below zero calm winter night when no one else seems to be outside; in the summer heat around the Minneapolis lakes; in the mountains; and along Lake Superior.

I have also had lots of great track, cross-country & road racing experiences. One of my top racing experiences was when I ran the NAIA outdoor Track & Field Nationals in 1983 in the 5,000m. I was a junior and only 20-years-old, but this was my last collegiate meet, because I needed to transfer from Moorhead State to NDSU to finish my Electrical Engineering degree and would have to sit out my whole senior year due to NCAA rules regarding transferring athletes. I was 7th in the indoor NAIA Nationals 2-mile missing All American by one place. Also, my coach Ron Masanz always came back from indoor and outdoor nationals with at least one all-American (we had 10 indoor all-Americans that year). Because we had a pretty windy outdoor season only three people qualified for outdoor nationals. After our 400 meter runner stepped on the line and got DQ’d and our 1,500 meter runner placed 7th, this was the last opportunity for Coach Masanz to keep his streak alive and my last chance to get all-American. Before this race, the meet had been very hot and humid, but right before the race, it started to rain and then in the race it turned into a heavy down pour. In the prelims, the pace was sluggish and I did not feel good, but I made it to the finals. In the finals, the pace was very fast, but I felt great and with 800 meters to go I moved into 4th place and was gaining, I didn’t catch 3rd place, but I set my PR and earned all-American honors – it was such a great feeling the last 2 laps in the driving rain knowing that I was gaining and that I had all-American honors locked up.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I can’t say one particular person. I have been blessed to be able to run with lots of great Minnesota runners, such as Dick Beardsley and other runners that although not as great, have made long runs, easy runs, and interval work outs very interesting and fun.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
There are lots of things, but the best thing about running is the journey, and I have enjoyed the journey so far including its ups and downs. I have discovered along the way that distance running takes patience and it is good to have gradual build-ups. Nonetheless, I really enjoy the challenge of going from being out of shape to race ready shape in a short time period. I also now know that large volume training can produce excellent results, but it can also result in poor quality workouts and possibly produce injuries which can lead to less consistent workouts. When I was younger, properly regulated sustained higher volume training could have led to improved performances, but in the Masters age group low volume training (mainly dictated by a busy schedule) has helped me stay healthy.

THEA FLEMING

2009-06-07T12:20:00.004-05:00

When I first met Thea Fleming, 3 or 4 years ago, she was transitioning from swimming at the U of M to running and triathlons. I can remember doing a hill workout where it felt like I was pulling her along the whole way. I thought I was pulling her along at last year's Boston Marathon too. That was until the 25-year-old Minneapolis resident easily pulled away from me during the second half of the race to record her first sub-3 hour marathon. This spring we've seen even more fast times from her. At the Human Race 8K she placed 3rd in 28:51 and followed that up with a 5th place performance at the Get in Gear 10K in 37:00 - all while juggling the training demands of her first Ironman. (Photo courtesy of Paul Phillips of Competitive Image.)

You swam at the U of M, but when and how did you first get involved with running?
I ran with my dad in high school during the off-season for swimming. The off-season wasn’t much time but it was enough to get me hooked on running. My dad does the Get in Gear and TCM every year so I guess watching him race caught my interest and then I joined him, my first running race was Get in Gear.

Coming from a swimming background and being a strong runner, it’s only natural to do some triathlons. What is your history with tris and what are your future plans?
I started tris right out of my swimming eligibility. My swim coach Kelly Kremer knew I had some running talent from the conditioning training I did as a distance swimmer. The distance swimmers would run or bike instead of the lifting training that the middle distance and sprinters would do. I did my first tri at the U of M they had an indoor tri the Tri U mah. Kelly was there to cheer me on and he decided to really help me get on track to train for tris. Kelly introduced me to Matt Haugen and I began training with Matt and P2 in March 2005. For the future I would like to keep improving, I’m doing Ironman Wisconsin this fall. I love the training and the people, so as long as I’m having fun I’m going to keep with the sport.

Biking is your, as Coach Matt would say, “third best sport”. Yet it basically makes up half the time of a triathlon. Does that worry you as you train for Ironman Wisconsin?
Biking is my “3rd best” but I have gotten stronger and more confident on the bike due to more training and time on the bike and my strong biking teammates and training partners. I have confidence that I can put in enough time on the bike this summer to build enough strength and endurance to take on the 112-mile bike in Madison.

Even as you balance the 3 different disciplines, you’ve been able to run some great times over 8K and 10K this spring. What do you attribute that to?
I think a lot comes from how much I love to run. I have fun at races, the gathering of other great runners and the cheering of my family and friends creates an environment that I love and feel so comfortable in. I do run more than the average triathlete too; I add more runs and don’t swim as much.

You’ve mentioned eventually focusing on qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Did watching the 2008 Trials and the fact that you train with one of the qualifiers from that race, Jenna Boren, help make that a goal of yours?
Of course, being able to stay with Jenna at the Trials in Boston as well as being able to train with her and hear of her many amazing accomplishments is very inspiring. I really didn’t ever imagine I could have the potential of reaching such a goal as competing in the Olympic Trials. I remember the conversation I had with Matt after my win at the Wells Fargo Half Marathon in 2007. He told me I might have a chance and I was so taken a back and excited. Since then I have had so many great friends encourage me and they have really boosted my confidence and belief in myself to do well. It’s been great.

What are your PRs?

8k - 28:51
10k - 36:42
1/2 marathon - 1:24:35
Marathon - 2:57
Half Ironman - 4:58

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
Strengths are that I enjoy running, training and love trying new things, experiences and challenges. And that I have a wonderful family and so many great friends. My weaknesses are my tendency to potentially over work and over think everything. I haven’t quite been able to feel that I’m pushing myself to threshold on the bike, but I’m working on it.

What is your fondest memory from running, swimming or tris?
There are so many great memories; hearing my dad cheering for me from the bleachers at swim meets, tris, and running races is definitely one of them. Seeing the face coach Matt after my Wells Fargo win and the hug he gave me. The hug my dad gave me after my Run for Oromia prize win. Seeing my mom at the finish line of TCM. All the great training runs, the great cheering and encouragement from teammates. Seeing and being part of such a great community of athletes and friends.

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?
Turtleman is on the top of the list for local tris. Wild Flower is a favorite nationally. I have a lot of favorite races; I love Trail Mix and Afton trail run. I loved TCM and my favorite national race so far is the Boston Marathon.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
To continue running with all the great friends I have been and the new friends to come.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
Cotton should not be worn while running.

CYNTHIA BROCHMAN

2009-05-27T17:17:00.005-05:00

When you combine running, tris, x-c skiing and snowshoeing, Cynthia Brochman is probably one of the most recognizable names around. The soon-to-be 44-year-old Maplewood resident has found challenges in each of these sports and more. Now she finds herself battling cancer. While she may not be racing as much, she can still be found at races cheering on the competitors and even calling out splits. Plans are currently in the works for a July 27th fundraiser for Cindy at the Best Buy corporate campus. The theme will be casino night and will run from 5-9 PM. As the event gets closer, I'm sure more info will become available. If you'd like more details please contact Kelley DOT Kosin AT BestBuy DOT com. (Photo by Curt Lyons of Glossy Digital)

Let’s start with the most obvious questions; How did you find out you have cancer?
I was out running on December 17th, 2008, when I threw up blood twice during the run/walk back to my office at Best Buy. I had a doctors appointment that day, but went to the emergency room instead.

What type of cancer and the treatments?
I have a myo fibroblastic sarcoma that is in my left abdomen. The tumor is taking up all of the space in the left side that I have. It also metastasized to the liver prior to my knowledge of having cancer. I have been doing chemotherapy since January 1st, Happy New Year, and will continue with chemo for now.

I have also started juicing my meals as well as doing wheatgrass and barley leaf and eating raw foods. Along with the diet, I am using a homeopath to help with a remedy. I am drinking special tea every day as well as taking something called poly-MVA 4 times/day.

I’m also using a FIR bed to sleep under at night which heats my body to destroy the cancer cells that are in it. The goal is to use my own internal healing powers to heal myself. I will do quigong in June for 4 weeks and I use a healer on the weekends using hands/magnets and crystals for waking up and aligning my healing energies.

I also have been seeing an acupuncturist that is specializing in treatment of cancer patients as well as he prescribes herbal teas, aka sticks and bark, for me. He is doing research on how herbal teas can suppress cancer and help treat it.

I think that is enough for now. It is all a lot of work to get everywhere that I need to be and to work a full time job throughout this whole process.

What is the prognosis?
How do I say this? Terminal. The major tumor in my abdomen metastasized to my liver before I knew I had cancer. Since the liver is a primary cleansing organ in the body, and once cancer spreads, it is considered Stage IV. My liver is about 85% functioning, which is a positive, but we cannot operate on the tumors because they are in all four lobes of the liver. Once we diminish the risk in the liver and shrink the larger tumor, I will become a candidate for surgery. Right now, I am inoperable, which is different than most cancer patients. Why did I have to be so different? I guess it is because I am so strong and because there is a plan. Now, I need to find and follow the plan.

Following along on your Caring Bridge site, I’m continuously amazed at your courage and spirit. Have those traits always been prevalent and what do you consider your other strengths?
I believe that these have always been my strengths. Right now, they are just out there because of my will to live and to live a long, prosperous and productive life style. I am not taking the prognosis for what it is. I am seeking alternative therapies and doing everything I can. I think that most people in my situation would do the same thing. My will to live is foremost over everything else. I am going to live to see my 50th wedding anniversary, so I am going to be around for quite some time.

One of your posts talked about how you’re not supposed to focus just on the cancer. So let’s talk a little bit about your amazing athletic accomplishments. Given that, in addition to running, you’re involved with snowshoeing, triathlons, and x-c skiing, can you tell us about some of you accomplishments that you’re most proud of?
My biggest accomplishment is being able to be injury free for so many years is incredible. I am a horse when it comes to endurance sports. I can handle high mileage and high hours of training.

I have also been able to compete for so many years that it is incredible. Since I have been sick, this is the first time off in about 30+ years that I have had.

What was your first endurance sport? When and how did you first get involved? How did the others evolve from there?
I am not sure what my first endurance sport was because I have participated in sports all of my life. I started as a kid in t-ball, softball and golf. I went on to volleyball, basketball and golf on the boy’s team in high school. In college, I played volleyball and ran track then cross country.

I got involved just because it was what we did in my family. There was not an option to not do a sport so that is how it started. I have kept that up throughout my life because of the friends and fun that I have participating in sports of all types.

I have changed sports throughout the years, but one thing always holds true, I just love to have fun and enjoy what life has to offer. I don’t like to lose in team sports, but if we are playing the best that we can, and we lose, that is ok.

I have enjoyed the 20 years of volleyball that I have played in the Twin Cities. At one point, my husband and I were looking at moving to the UP, however, that would mean that I would come back on Sundays to play volleyball on Mondays like I have for 20 years. Why wouldn’t you drive 6+ hours to be with friends? Yes, I was serious so thankfully that never panned out. It would have been a long commute to work on Tuesday mornings.

Do you have a favorite activity?
I don’t have a favorite activity unless you count activities. I just enjoy being active which is why this cancer thing is really cramping my style. I just can’t do the things that I used to do because of the rapid weight lose and the chemo that I am on. I just don’t have the energy that I used to have. Oh well, I am re-shaping my lean muscle mass so I can be stronger when I come back.

Since you’re heavily involved with snowshoe racing, why do you think more runners don’t participate in snowshoeing?
That is a great question. One of the reasons that I believe that runners don’t is because they will run significantly slower times in snowshoeing than in running. If you run 6:00 pace on the roads, you may not be able to break in to the 8:00 mark on snowshoes. It is all dependent on snow conditions and weather. You can’t take a PR from one course and set a different PR on a different course because of the conditions.

That is the only reason why I can think of as to why runners don’t cross over.

In general, what is your training philosophy?
Train hard on hard days, and easy on easy days. Don’t over do the easy days because you won’t be able to train as hard on the tougher days.

I am also a high mileage junky and workout-a-holic so I like to mix up my training or do two different ones/day. It adds to new friends and new adventures.

What are your PRs?

17:54 - 5k
29:19 - 8k
37:10 - 10k
1:21 - ½ marathon
3:01 - marathon

What are some of your favorite races and why?
My favorite race of all times is Hood to Coast. It is a great team race and the friendships that I have made along the way are immeasurable and invaluable. Some of the best times I have had racing are during this race.

Winter Carnival Half Marathon because that is my PR course. I ran a 1:21 on a day that was -10 degrees on the course. Brrr... but it was great.

I guess anyone can say that their favorite races are the ones that they have their PRs on. I just enjoy racing. It could be in the rain and cold, but I would show up. Training runs though, didn’t happen outside in the rain.

I enjoy the racing because it shows you what you have accomplished in training and how far you have come. It is also a great time to see a lot of great friends and enjoy each others company.

What is your fondest athletic memory?
One of my fondest memories was starting and finishing Hood to Coast. We had a year where a gal had a stress fracture in her pelvis. She stuck it out and ran two legs, but could hardly walk so I was able to jump in and help out. I started the race that year and got to finish it as well. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you just outran a person that only had to run three legs and seeing all 11 of your teammates on the beach cheering you on. It is so exhilarating and has brought me to tears on a couple of occasions. Knowing that you put everything out on the course is just reward enough.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I don’t know how to answer this question because I think that I have run with most people in the Twin Cities at one time or another. I would love to run though with all of the Olympians that we have from the Twin Cities. One I run with all of the time in my husband, Kevin Brochman, Olympian from ‘84 and ‘88 in cross country skiing. But I recognize all of the time and effort that one has to put in to a sport to get to the top. There are a lot of sacrifices that they endure along the way.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started doing these activities?
I wish that I would have done more swimming and learned how to be a better biker during my earlier years. I love participating in the du’s and tri’s in the Twin Cities.

All of the communities in which I have participated are great. They are all supportive of each other and just plain nice people. It is great to see in competitive sports.

[Editor's note: After a year-long battle with cancer, Cindy passed away on December 27, 2009. She will be missed.]

MEGHAN ARMSTRONG

2009-05-17T08:25:00.004-05:00

Like my last interviewee, Josh Moen, Meghan Armstrong is a relatively new member of Team USA Minnesota - having joined the group last fall. And like Moen, Armstrong has started 2009 off with a bang, PRing at distances ranging from 5000 meters to the half marathon. Most recently she placed 5th at the TC-1 mile clocking 4:43. Now the 23-year-old Minneapolis resident sets her sites on the U.S. Championships next month.

When did you first start running and how did you get involved?
I first started running in the 7th grade after my 6th grade teacher told me she thought I would be a good runner. In 6th grade my class and I were doing mile runs once a week during gym class. Each time we ran the mile I would always run the fastest, leading my teacher to encourage me to try running. So, the next year I joined my first cross country team and I have not stopped running since.

Nothing against the University of Iowa, by how does someone with your high school credentials, from a strong running state like Oregon, end up in Iowa?
I decided to go to Iowa because I believed in my coach Layne Anderson’s vision. He wanted to build a nationally ranked team and I wanted to be part of it. Iowa offered a chance where I could be an influential member of the team from the start, but at the same time I was not the best, giving me a goal to strive for. Besides, at the time when I was looking at schools Oregon was going through coaching changes and was nowhere close to the team it is now.

You graduated last spring and joined Team USA Minnesota last fall. How would you describe your transition from college to the professional ranks? How are you adjusting to your new teammates, coach and city?
I would say that the transition was fairly smooth for me. My teammates here are so supportive and Dennis is a very caring and knowledgeable coach. Furthermore, I had a lot of support from the Team USA Minnesota board members, my boyfriend Cole and my fantastic agent Bob Gordon. Without this large network of people, I do not think the transition would have been so seamless.

Like another new teammate, Josh Moen, you’ve been running really well this year, including PRs at 5000m, 10,000m, 15K and half marathon. What kind of changes have you made to your training to account for your recent success?
The biggest changes have been in the number of miles I run a week, the types of workouts and the caliber of my training partners. In college I ran around 60 miles a week on my high weeks, now I run 90. Also, during workouts under Dennis I frequently use a heart rate monitor to determine the effort of my workout and they incorporate a lot less rest between intervals. Finally, as a member of Team USA Minnesota I train almost every day with world-class athletes who help to push me to new heights.

Given those races, along with the U.S. Cross Country Championships and the TCM 1-mile, you’re all over the map. It must be nice to be young. Are you trying to find your niche between track/roads, short distance/long distance or are you, as Moen said when asked a similar question, “just a runner”?
I would say that I am exploring myself a little bit, trying to find my niche. Yet, at the same time when/if I do find my niche I do not think that will change my range of races. I am willing to give any distance my best shot, because I think that races of different distance will help me improve as an overall runner.

What is your favorite distance and why?
Truthfully my favorite distance is probably the mile, only because I have the most experience with it. But, I really like the 5k and 10k also, and as I gain more experience with them they will probably become my favorites.

What are your PRs?

1500 - 4:17.41
Mile - 4:40.59
3000 - 9:17
5000 - 15:41.09
10,000 - 33:26.75
15k - 52:30
Half marathon - 1:14:57

What are your goals for the rest of 2009?
My goals for 2009 are to continue to bring down my times in all the events that I compete in and place well at the USATF Nationals in June. I would obviously love to qualify for the World Championships, but that is probably a goal that is more long-term.

What are your long-term goals?
My long-term goals are to represent the USA in the Olympics and World Championships and to win national championships here at home.

What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strengths are my natural foot speed and my ability to finish races strong. My weakness is my endurance strength. I have to run a lot of miles in comparison to some people to be as strong as I would like.

In addition to Team USA Minnesota, you are also sponsored by

Strands. Can you tell us a little about that group and what their support means to you?
Strands is a computer software company that launched a cool website back in January aimed at helping runners organize their online activities and their running. You can keep an online training log, share workouts, race results, nutrition and equipment with your “friends” or as we call them “followers”. It is a really great and easy to use website. And those of us who are members of Team Strands are the faces that represent the website. People really love to see us and follow our running on the site.

Finally, what does Strands support mean to me? It means that I can follow my dreams. When I graduated from college and was in the position to look for a sponsor, all of the traditional sponsors were in a “hiring freeze”. And even some of our nation’s best athletes were finding themselves without sponsors. So I was pretty nervous about the feasibility of being a professional athlete. But then Strands came along and made it possible for me to pursue my dreams of one day being an Olympian.

What is your fondest running memory?
One of my fondest running memories (man there are a lot of memories to choose from) is from high school when we used to do the shaving-cream relay. In reality, though I didn’t think of it this way then, it is a fun way to do a repeat1000m workout. You and one other team member were a “team” and you were competing against all the other “teams” in a relay event. Only, instead of a baton you had to carry a fistful of shaving-cream around and had to make sure to smear it all over your teammate when you tagged off with them. We always made a big mess and then would take great pictures when we were done.

What’s your favorite race, locally or nationally?
Well I am still fairly new to the road racing scene, so I am still feeling out my favorites there. But, when it comes to track I have always loved the Mt. SAC Relays and anything run at Hayward Field.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started running?
Running is a long evolutionary process. The runner I was 11 years ago when I first started is nowhere close to the runner I am now. The process has taken a lot of work, dedication and patience.

JOSH MOEN

2009-05-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

It’s only May and Josh Moen is already busy setting PRs. In April he ran the 5k at the Mt. SAC Relays and lowered his best time by 18 seconds. For most of us, that doesn’t sound like a lot. However, when you’re going from 13:53 to 13:35, it’s a big jump. A week later, Moen, who just turned 27th this month, shaved 5 seconds from his 10k time, lowering it to 28:26. The Team USA Minnesota runner grew up in Northeast Iowa and graduated of Wartburg College, where he was a 10-time NCAA Div. III All-American, and 5-time National Champion.

With our winters, most local runners aren’t in PR shape in the spring, yet you’ve already set PRs at 5000m and 10,000m this spring. Going into those races did you know you were so fit?
I knew I was pretty fit when I went down to a small 5k in Ft. Myers, FL called the Edison Festival of Lights 5k. I ran 14:08, winning by 40 seconds. That was my first sign that it would be a good spring. The next sign was doing workouts at paces I’ve never touched before and feeling relaxed doing them.

Even if you had some inklings of your fitness, shaving 18 seconds off your PR – in your first 5000m on the track this year – had to be a little surprising. Would you agree?
I was hoping to run 13:40 on a good day. I talked with my coach, Dennis Barker, and he said I should be shooting for the 13:30’s. I just went out there and let ‘er rip. To finish in 13:35 is a big step for me since I don’t consider the 5k my strongest event.

What kind of changes have you made to your training to account for your recent success?
The biggest changes have been in volume and frequency of workouts. The past few years I would hover around 80-90 miles per week and now I’m averaging 100+ on a consistent basis. Workout are now scheduled more closely together, sometimes back-to-back, whereas I used to do a workout every three days.

Any long-term goals that you’d like to share with us?
My long term goals at the moment are to get the World A Standard in the 10k, which is 27:48 and to run in the Olympics or World Championships in either the marathon or 10k.

As a relative newcomer to Team USA Minnesota and a former Brooks-Hansons member, can you compare the two elite training groups?
This is a good question. Brooks-Hansons is totally based on the Group Training Theory. Everyone runs together 7 days a week, rain or shine. Workouts are generally every three days and are very strength oriented. Examples of this would be 3 x 3 miles, 6 x 1.5 miles, 2 x 4 miles. Track work is not neglected, though it takes a back-seat in some regards.

Team USA Minnesota takes an altered approach to Group Training Theory in that workouts are done as a group and recovery runs (easy days) can be done alone or with somebody. Dennis believes that all your systems should be worked on all year, which means we have standard workouts that are done year-round, such as 200’s, hills, tempos, and long repeats. He does emphasize some systems more than others at certain times of the year though depending on what you’re training for.

Last year you ran your debut marathon at TCM. How was that experience?
I absolutely loved the experience even though it wasn’t the best racing conditions. I’ll never forget running up the West River Road with my feet totally submerged in water due to the downpour. I also will never forget this one guy who was playing a pan flute in the rain around mile 19.

We like to debate whether or not Americans wait too long to move up to the marathon. You’ve had a taste of the marathon, as well as recent success at shorter distances. Do you think you need to distinguish yourself as either a 5K/10K runner or a marathoner?
I’m going to take the easy way out and just say I consider myself a runner. I have the versatility to move up or down.

What are your PRs?

400m = 60.1
Mile = 4:09
5k = 13:35
10k = 28:26
15K = 44:34
½ Marathon = 1:04.37
Marathon = 2:23.16

What's your fondest running memory?
I would have to say winning the 5k and 10k at NCAA Outdoor Nationals in 2005. It was hosted by my alma mater, Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Both races came down to the last lap and I was fortunate enough to eke out the wins in front of a home crowd.

What’s your favorite race, locally or nationally?
My favorite race is probably the Minster Oktoberfest 10k in Minster, OH. Minster is a town of probably 2,000, but 3,000 people show up to run a 10k through the town and then out into the country. It’s just an amazing race, which is then followed by an equally amazing Oktoberfest celebration! I highly recommend this race to everyone. It’s definitely a race that deserves more attention.

Who were your role models growing up?
My running role model is Joe Hughes, who won state (Iowa) in 1998. He went to Wartburg College upon graduation and is a big reason I attended there. The way he carried himself and what he represented inspired me to be a better runner.

As a small town Iowan, how are you adjusting to living in the Twin Cities?
I don’t like how many people there are, traffic, the constant drone of the city, or the fact that it’s hard to see the stars at night. I grew up in the country where nature was right out the door along with miles of gravel roads. Life moves faster in Minneapolis.

I do enjoy the trails in the Cities as well as the active community.

If you could run with any Minnesotan or Iowan, past or present, who would it be?
I honestly would like to run with my mom. She has smoked ever since I was born and has barely run a step. To run even a quarter mile with her would be fun. I’m working on this one…

Other than some of your Team Minnesota teammates, who are some of the best runners from Iowa?
Lisa Koll. She runs for Iowa State and has the NCAA 10k record
Kiel Uhl. Another Iowa State runner
Casey Owens. A 10k runner
Lolo Jones. Hurdler
Robyn Friedman. Top 10 Olympic Trials marathon
Erin Moeller. Top 10 Olympic Trials marathon

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started running?
Take your easy days EASY and run based on how you feel. Running should be fun and enjoyable. If you push it every day it takes the fun out of it and also brings you down physically over the long haul.

If you’re interested, you can read another interview with Josh from almost exactly one year ago. Or if you want to go back over 5 years, there’s this interview, where one of the questions happens to be; “Where do you see yourself five years from now? Still running competitively?”

JOHN MUNGER

2009-04-08T20:44:00.004-05:00

Before the last of the snow melts I wanted to post one more interview with ties to skiing. Not only is John Munger, 39 of Minneapolis, a very good runner with a 2:47 marathon under his belt, but he's an even better x-c skier. At this year's Birkie he placed 64th overall with a time of 2:27:13. In addition, he's the race director for the City of Lakes Loppet. Below he talks about skiing, biking, running, race directing and his efforts to get kids and involved in skiing. (Photo courtesy of skinnyski.com)

What was your first endurance sport? When and how did you first get involved?
My first endurance sport was probably biking. When I was growing up my dad ran the Minnesota Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) Society. He decided that a Minneapolis to Duluth bike ride would be a good way to raise money for M.S. To test the idea, he thought it would be a good idea to see if a middle aged man (my dad was 40 or so at the time) and a young boy (I was ten or eleven) could survive the ride.

It took us three days. The first day we made it from our home in south Minneapolis to Forest Lake. The next night we stayed in Hinckley. The third day we rode all the way from Hinckley to Duluth. We rode on highway 23 – which is very pretty but also fairly hilly – especially for a ten-year-old kid with tired legs.

Every time we climbed a new hill my dad would tell me that this was the last hill – at the crest would be “5-mile down-hill” into Duluth. But every time we crested a hill I would see a new hill to climb. And every time I saw a new hill to climb I would start to cry.

It was a long day – but I guess it was also the start of my love of endurance sports. Maybe the fact that we eventually made it to Duluth was the difference-maker. That feeling of satisfaction you get upon completing something difficult is something I have never outgrown ...

Do you have any other outdoor activities that you participate in on a regular basis?
Skiers are – almost by definition – multi-sport athletes. Even in the best of circumstances there is only snow on the ground four months per year. Once addicted to endurance sports, one can’t just abandon them for eight months ...

So I run – preferably on trails, bike – preferably mountain bike, roller-ski, and for years I have played ultimate Frisbee. The Frisbee was great for maintaining speed and power while I still had speed and power. It’s a lot more challenging now ...

What is your training philosophy and how do you balance all your different activities?
I try to stay pretty simple: do something – even if relatively short – most days, do one long (2.5 – 3 hours) and slow (walk up hills) day on weekends, avoid the one hour medium pace trap if possible, and try to get one or two harder days (either ultimate Frisbee or intervals or a race) each week.

With kids it’s hard to be on a more disciplined program all the time – so I generally choose two short seasons per year and try to get a little peak for those. And then I try to build workouts into my days if at all possible. So when I can I pull my kids to school on my bike (going up hills pulling a fully loaded trailer is a surprisingly good workout), run while my kids bike, work out over lunch, that type of thing ...

What are your PRs?
It’s difficult to have meaningful PRs in skiing. Courses change and, more important, snow conditions change from day to day. Under those circumstances, comparing a time from one year to a time the next year is pretty silly. However, in races with fairly consistent participation one can compare places from year to year. I suppose the Birkebeiner in Hayward is like that for the most part. I came in 29th place a few years ago, which I consider to be my personal record in skiing. There was a strong headwind and I am good at drafting – so it was more of a tactical than a physical achievement. But I’ll take it anyway.

On the running front, I ran a 2:47 at Grandma’s Marathon years ago.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
For the most part I seem to be pretty good at avoiding injuries and, if I keep myself well-fed, I can generally keep going pretty well. As a skier I like to think that my technique is pretty good. I especially concentrate on transitions and down-hills. Many skiers concentrate all of their efforts on bull-moosing up the hills, but then they essentially take their foot off of the gas as they crest the hill and start to go down. I take the opposite approach: do as little as possible on the way up the hills but then make a big push off of the top. The speed at the top carries all the way down a hill so that one big push at the top makes a much bigger difference than the bull-moosing on the way up...

My biggest weakness is weakness. I don’t start out inherently strong and I haven’t been great at keeping up on strength workouts. This is reflected primarily in two areas: classical skiing and bike riding. I just don’t have the strength to classical ski worth a darn. On a bike I can climb pretty well, but I have zero chance on the flatter big-chain areas.

What are your goals for 2009?
I’m hoping to do a bit more strength training – primarily roller-board – and I want to concentrate on mountain biking more than I have over the past years.

What is your fondest athletic memory?
Hmm. Not sure I have any one fondest memory. There is a common feeling though. On the good days I feel like I have super powers – like I always have another gear I can tap into if I need it. I love those days! So I guess my favorite athletic memory is just the combined nostalgia I have for those few days when I have felt like Superman on skis.

As the race director of the City of Lakes Loppet, do I need to ask if you have a favorite event? What makes the COLL so great?
Never having done the Loppet, I don’t actually count it among my favorite events. (For me the Loppet is more of an endurance drama than an athletic event).

But I do, of course, think that the Loppet is a great event. There are a number of factors at work in the Loppet’s greatness. First, Theodore Wirth. He had the foresight to set aside park land in the middle of the city for future generations to enjoy. Then there are the people who work on the event. We have a great group of super-talented and dedicated volunteers. One of the reasons they keep coming back is our youth programming. We feel like all of the work is worth it when we see kids smiling and having fun on skis.

There is the big deal factor. We think the Loppet is a big deal and we treat it that way. Really, anyone can put on a ski race; make a start line and say go. Making the event special takes a lot more effort. Great awards, announcing finishers’ names, cloth race bibs, a finish in Uptown, on-time busing and transportation, clever posters and brochures, a well-organized and attractive website, pictures of the participants, accurate and timely results, a manicured course that is challenging but not too challenging, pomp and circumstance – all of these factors contribute to making the Loppet a big deal.

And then one other thing. The drama factor. Unlike many events, the Loppet is no sure thing. Warm days, cold days, rainy days, wind, ice – it can all wreck havoc with the Loppet. Most of the time things turn out fine in the end – in no small part because of our fantastic volunteers. But the drama itself adds to the mystique of the event: one never wants to miss a year because it just might turn out to be the best ever.

What are some of the challenges you face every year?
By nature I am not a big worrier. But I become pretty anxious about the weather in the weeks and months before the Loppet. As the event has grown this anxiety has become more and more pronounced. It is one thing to cater to the smaller ski race community. They know that ski races are, at least to some degree, at the mercy of the weather. But with 6,000 participants this year we are well beyond the ski race community.

On a related note, because weather is always introducing new wrinkles it is difficult to invest too heavily in precise planning. We have to be on our toes, ready to turn on a dime as the weather changes. Because of that there are usually a significant number of details that need to be attended to as the event approaches – meaning that the key volunteers and I have a hard time sleeping for a few weeks before the event.

Communication is the other big piece that never goes away. Without the World Wide Web we probably couldn’t run this event at all. Used correctly, the web allows us to change quickly – and communicate that change to the world quickly. But those communications do not happen automatically. It takes significant effort to get the communications right. Fortunately, we have a fantastic web team that really does an excellent job organizing and disseminating information.

As a parent, I’ll say it was super easy to get my daughter involved with the family activities on Saturday. Can you tell us a little bit about those as well as your efforts to get inner city kids involved with skiing?
We started out as a ski race that wanted to make the broader community welcome. As the event has evolved we have become a family ski festival that tries to make the ski race community welcome. Our Saturday activities now include:

• Loppet Snow Sculpture Contest
• Penn Ice-Cycle Loppet (bike racing around a track of ice)
• Chuck & Don’s Skijoring Loppet (skiers and their dogs team up for a trip around Lake of the Isles)
• Minnesota Youth Ski League SuperCarnival (free event for younger skiers)
• Rossignol Junior Loppet (a grade level championship event for 5th – 9th graders)
• Sons of Norway Minne-Loppet (free non-competitive event for kids age 12 and under)
• Toko/Finn Sisu Sprints (the best skiers in the country compete for cash prizes)
• Luminary Loppet (thousands of skiers and snow-shoers make their way around Lake of the Isles by the light of a thousand luminaries, the Ice Pyramid, the Ice-Cropolis and fire spinners)
• Post-Luminary Party (live music in the big tent)

The Luminary Loppet is now our biggest event with the Minne-Loppet the third biggest (after the Freestyle Loppet). More than two-thirds of our participation comes on Saturday now – a significant reversal from even two years ago. So yes, the Saturday activities have become bigger and bigger over time.

Our goal has always been to bring more and more people into the sport. And that is why we run activities through the Minneapolis Public Schools. Any “profits” from the events go into our youth programs and trail development. We outfit the schools with ski equipment and coaching. We start working with the kids in late-November and ski with them every week through the Loppet. Then we bus the kids to the Loppet where they ski in either the Minne-Loppet or Junior Loppet, depending upon their age and abilities. For the kids this is a very special experience. They have generally become good skiers by then and their efforts are validated by the cheering crowds.

UCare Minnesota sponsors a few of the schools (Bryn Mawr and Pillsbury). At those schools we run a nutrition program as well where teach the kids about fitness and good eating in conjunction with the skiing. The idea is to leverage the kids’ love of skiing to get them to think about their health choices more generally. To learn more about these programs or to volunteer visit loppet.org.

In addition to the Loppet, there’s also the Tri-Loppet (paddle, trail run and mountain bike), a Trail Loppet and even awards for the entire series. How popular are those events becoming?
Very.

The Tri-Loppet is only three years old but last year had 470 participants. We expect more than 600 this year. We give folks an opportunity for something a little different. Our events are “serious” for the top athletes, but they are not as intimidating for the everyday person.

The Trail Loppet became much more popular last year as well. It jumped from 160 participants in 2007 to about 400 in 2008. My sense is that road races have become a dime a dozen. Running on trails is something new and, frankly, running on trails is much better for the body than running on roads.

We connect the events via the Hoigaard’s Challenge. Do all three events in a single year and receive a participation pin. Do all three well and compete for age class recognition or even the grand prize trips to Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint Trail. The male and female overall winners (overall winners are determined by adding the times from the three events) win a one-week stay at Bearskin, with another grand prize reserved for a randomly selected person who participates in all three events. Find more information including current standings at loppet.org.

Do you have any advice for someone that may be thinking about taking up skiing, paddling, mountain biking, etc.?
Endurance activities all come with a significant barrier to entry; activities like skiing, mountain biking and paddling even more so – because they involve technique as well as fitness. The first several times out will not be much fun – more frustration than fulfillment. Give the activity a solid few weeks before you assess whether you like it or not. Even then, realize that the best is yet to come . . . And one other thing: the people who do these activities are the best folks in the world. Without fail, they are all happy to offer a little help when you need it ...

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started doing these activities?
Hmm. I wish I had known that race directors would be required to do long interviews – ha!

Just wait till we start converting all these runners to skiers, it'll be worth it.

HELEN LAVIN

2009-03-09T20:06:00.006-05:00

To be honest, when someone suggested I interview Helen Lavin, I had no idea who she is. That's probably because she's originally from Ireland and she run ultas - 2 things I don't know much about. It turns out the 31-year-old Minneapolis resident not only runs ultras, but she won last year's Sawtooth 100-mile ultra. That was her first attempt at the 100 mile distance. In addition, she's a 2-time Ironman finisher and a 3:17 marathoner. You can read more about her adventures and her passion for life on her blog.

When and how did you get involved with running?

I started running on the treadmill while trying to get fit about 10 years ago. Within a year or so I was thrilled to be able run 5K without stopping. After a few years I started to run 10K races so I’d have a goal to keep me training. Inspired by a friend, I found myself running my first marathon in Dublin in 2004 and haven’t looked back.

When did you get involved with ultras and what drew you to them?
I started trail running soon after moving to Minnesota in 2005. After my first trail race (Afton 25K) that summer I knew this was something I wanted to do more of. After twice running the Moose Mountain marathon ('05 & '06) I was hungry for more of this endurance stuff. I also love to travel so it didn’t take me long to find the perfect combination – the Moab Red Hot 50K – which my friend Kami and I ran in February 2007. By the end of that year I’d completed several more ultras including my first 50 miler. It’s hard for me to explain the ‘why’. All I know is how much I enjoy each and every experience, if not every actual mile! The idea of having nothing to do but run for hours on end, especially in scenic locations, is pretty appealing.

Are you strictly an ultra marathoner or do you run shorter road races as well?
Mostly ultras but I am signed up for Grandma’s Marathon this June. I love that race and decided I’d focus on that for spring and then switch to longer distances on the trails for the rest of the year. Although, a 50K in Virginia at the end of March and Chippewa 50K at the end of April did manage to sneak onto the schedule.

How would you describe your training philosophy?
Cross-training is key for me. I usually get in a few sessions a week of yoga, biking and swimming. While running is by far my favourite activity I try to keep it to 3-4 times a week to avoid injury. It’s hard to avoid over-training but I want to be doing this for many years to come so it’s important to look at the bigger picture. I try to pay attention to my diet but I need to work a bit more at that…

What advice do you have for people that may be on the fence regarding trying an ultra?
I have only run trail ultras so I guess my advice for anyone who’s run a road marathon and wants to go longer would be to consider trails. It’s definitely easier on the body. While you may be out there a lot longer the impact is less and generally the pace slower so once you build endurance I think most people find it is not as a big a leap as it seems at first.

What are your PRs?

100M: 26:49 (Sawtooth ’08)
50M: 8:19 (Voyageur ’08)
50K: 4:36 (Afton ’08)
26.2M: 3:17 (Grandma’s ’07)

Ironman: 11:20 (Arizona '08)

What are your goals for 2009?
PR at Grandma’s, Afton and Voyageur and complete my second 100 mile race at Angeles Crest in September. That’s a lot of goals and realistically I probably won’t achieve them all. But I like to challenge myself.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
Strengths: My determination and ability to focus on a goal.

Weaknesses: My determination and inability to know when to stop. Can’t have it every way I guess.

Do you have a favorite trail race or ultra? Why?
Afton 25K/50K is probably my favourite though I have to say I’ve enjoyed every trail race I’ve ever run and am continually impressed by how well organized they are, not to mention the absolute friendliness of everyone and the generosity of the volunteers.

What is your fondest running memory?
A 12 mile training run in the summer of 2007 around Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula in the south west of Ireland. That whole run I felt like I was on a cloud. It was a beautiful day and a very happy time in my life.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
That’s a tough question for me as I’m originally from Ireland so I don’t have a lot of history with local runners here. If I can change the question to an Irish runner it would be Ronnie Delaney who won the 1500m in record time at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. He is still alive and well and is an absolute gentleman by all accounts. I would love to meet him sometime.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
That the right running shoe is important! I trained for and ran my first marathon in men’s Nike trail shoes that were completely worn down and continually gave me blisters – I just thought that went with the territory. Still, even the things that are hard to learn are worth the experience of getting it wrong sometimes. I enjoy learning new stuff all the time, from talking to runners, reading magazines, books, blogs etc. I love that there is so much I don’t yet know about running.

CHRIS LUNDSTROM

2009-03-02T15:28:00.005-06:00

All right, it's March and it's time for me to stop hibernating. We kick off the Spring with one of Team USA Minnesota's original athletes, Chris Lundstrom. Not only is the soon-to-be 33-year-old Minneapolis resident one of the best runners around, but he's also a terrific writer on our sport. You can often find his articles in such publications as Running Times and Twin Cities Sports, or online at Down the Backstretch. He also shares his insight in a journal for the New York Road Runners. Below, he talks about juggling his busy schedule, his plans for 2009 and how he'd like his running career to be remembered. (Photo courtesy of Alison Wade)

As one of the inaugural members of Team USA Minnesota, what has being a part of the team meant to you, personally and professionally?
It’s been a blast. To train with such a collection of outstanding runners and people has been quite an experience. Professionally, I know that without the team, I would not have had anywhere near the same opportunities to compete, nor the same amount of time to dedicate to training as I have had.

I’d argue that, from top to bottom, the team is as strong as it’s ever been – on both the men’s and women’s side. Would you agree with that?
I think we’re very strong. It’s hard to compare one group with another. We’ve had some very good athletes come and go. That said, this group has a great deal of potential. It’s exciting to see the development of some of the younger runners -- Emily Brown, Antonio Vega, and others. And on top of that, we have some veterans who are working to get back on top or to stay near the top.

In terms of team dynamics, I think it’s the best group we’ve had. We get a real synergistic effect from working out together. With the exception of Matt and Antonio, all of the men have been injured at some point over the last few months, but we’re coming back together now, hopefully in time for some good racing in 2009.

The team seems to have more of a marathon focus lately. Is that by design or is it just one of the cycles that the team goes through?
Last fall, it just made sense of most of the guys to run a marathon. Going forward, I imagine that the fall marathon will be a part of most of the team’s schedule. However, with the exception of Jason and myself, we are not a team of marathoners. Pretty much everyone else is focused primarily on the track this spring. I actually think it’s a very natural combination. Putting in a big base in the fall, culminating with a marathon, should enhance your aerobic fitness and ultimately lead to better track racing in the spring.

How has the distance running scene in the U.S. changed since you joined the team?
It’s been fun to see the rising tide of young runners taking the sport to the next level. There have always been some top-notch runners in the U.S. – the ‘90s had Todd Williams and Bob Kennedy, plus Kempainen, Steve Spence and others. But I think what has really changed is the depth that we’re seeing now. A time that used to place 10th in a national championship road race might be 25th or 30th now.

You’re part, professional runner, coach, teacher, and writer for like four different publications. How do you keep it all straight?
I don’t always. I have a big calendar where I try to write things down, and I usually schedule things when I’m sitting at my computer and I can look up at that calendar.

Running and coaching are my daily tasks, so they are done more or less by habit. I typically do my primary workout for the day first thing, before getting caught up in other stuff. Coaching is something that takes a lot of time, but I enjoy it so much that it’s hardly work. Teaching and writing, I guess I am more deadline-driven. If I have a lecture to give, I’m probably working on it the night before I do it. If I have an article due, I’m fitting that in wherever I can, hopefully before the deadline.

In addition to coaching running, you also coach cross country skiing. Is that something you competed in during high school? Have you competed or thought about competing lately?
No, Northfield High School didn’t have a Nordic ski team at that time. I did ski a little bit with my family when I was a young kid, just trudging through the snow. But I basically picked it up when I started coaching it. It was my first year as the head cross country coach at Como Park, and as the season was winding down, I heard that the Nordic ski coach was looking for an assistant. Some of my runners suggested that I do it. Somehow I ended up helping out even though I really didn’t know how to ski. By the next year I was the head coach. And I still really didn’t know how to ski. Strangely enough, based on team success I’m better at coaching girls skiing than anything else.

As far as my own participation, I have done a few ski races, but it’s more as recreation and cross-training. At a certain point, your body becomes so specialized at your primary sport that anything else feels awkward. I’m an okay skier now, but I certainly cannot compete at a high level. Maybe over the next few years I’ll start to do a little more skiing over the winter, giving my body a break from the pounding of running. But I think to really be competitive, you have to train for it year-round, including roller-skiing in the off season, and I don’t have any interest in doing that at this point.

What are your short-term goals for 2009?
I’m running the USA 15k championships (the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL) and the USA 25k championships (Fifth Third Bank River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, MI). I’d like place in the top 10 and/or run a PR at both of those races. In addition to that, I’m hoping to get out west for a track meet (maybe Mt. SAC) to take a crack at either a 5k or 10k PR.

And all of that leads up to Grandma’s Marathon. I’d like to run a good competitive marathon there. It’s a great course if the weather cooperates, but you can’t really count on that at any marathon. Really, I just want to come into Canal Park running strong and near the front. I’ve taken three previous attempts at Grandma’s. My debut in 2001 was 2:23, I dropped out in 2003 – the only marathon I’ve ever dropped out of, and in 2004 I ran my slowest marathon ever – 2:29. So I figure I’m due for a good one. I’ve had five years to lick my wounds, run the Bjorklund Half and now it’s time to go back and get it right.

Any long-term goals that you’d still like to accomplish?
I would like to clock a fast marathon at some point. I’ve run 2:17 at Twin Cities, and a bunch of times close to that on other courses, but I’ve never gone and run a fast race like Chicago or London. I usually focus on competing and placing well, but at some point, I’d like to nail down a time that I feel is about as good as I could do on an honest course. What would that be? At least 2:15, maybe 2:12 if training was great and everything came together perfectly. I don’t know.

Other than that, I’d also love to make a World Championship marathon team.

And I’d like to win a fairly major marathon. I won Napa Valley, but that’s not really a huge deal. There’s no prize money, though I did win my weight in wine – and it was really good wine, by the way. Other than that my 4th place at Twin Cities is my highest finish. I don’t expect to go and win Boston or New York, but I’d like to win a bigger marathon, something in that next tier down of great marathons…Twin Cities or something on par with that.

Beyond that, I’m sure that I will always find new challenges to tackle, whether it’s in competitive road running, or elsewhere.

When people look back on your running career in 20-30 years, what do you hope they see?
I’m not convinced that anyone will be looking back on my running career too long from now. If they do, I hope they see a guy who did a lot with the talent that he had, who worked hard and raced consistently over a period of many years.

What's your fondest running memory?
I really couldn’t choose one. I have great memories of running with so many great people over the years. The fondest memories are probably having laughs on easy runs with teammates and friends.

As far as moments that define my own career, the 2001 New York Marathon stands out. That was the USA marathon championships that year, and I was relatively unknown. Through a strong last 6 miles, I managed to jump up to 3rd place in the national championship race. That race really validated all the hard work I had done and made me feel, for the first time, like a national-class runner. I think it also brought some positive attention to Team USA Minnesota, and idea that there might be something to the concept of group training.

Also, running the Pan Am Games Marathon in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 was really special. I got to wear the USA singlet and stay in the athlete’s village and everything, so it was really a unique and memorable trip. My wife Taj came down to be with me. It was a great reward, and I was pleased with my 6th place finish.

What’s your favorite race, locally or nationally?
I’ll have to resort to a list here, in no particular order…
Boston Marathon
Grandma’s Marathon/Garry Bjorklund Half
Twin Cities Marathon
New York Marathon
Humboldt Half Marathon
Bay to Breakers 12k

Who were your role models growing up?
My brother Mike, Dominique Wilkins and Bob Kempainen.

My brother was three years older than me, and from an early age he pushed me to play sports with he and his friends. We were very competitive, and he was a lot stronger than me, so that forced me to learn the value of practicing skills, working hard, trying to find any type of advantage in a competitive situation. We had some epic one-on-one basketball games.

Dominique Wilkins – a.k.a. the Human Highlight Film – was the physical being that I hoped to grow into someday. It turned out that I couldn’t emulate his acrobatics, except maybe on an 8 foot hoop. So eventually, I began to focus more on running.

Kempainen was someone I really admired, and still admire. I remember watching him place second in the New York Marathon in 1993. I was a high school runner then, and it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Then they interviewed him, and I can’t remember what he said, but he was of course extremely humble. Over time, I had a chance to meet him a couple of times, and also to interview him for an article. I’ve always been impressed with him.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
That’s a tough one. There are a lot of great characters. If I had a time machine, I’d run with Bjorklund and Beardsley at the 1981 Grandma’s Marathon. I’d hang on as long as I possibly could. I also wish I could have met Ron Daws. In reading his book, I felt a real kinship with him.

Part of why I love running local races, and that I sometimes will do them just for workouts, is that you get to see and run with all of these great characters who are still out there doing it.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started running?
Nothing. I’m still learning along the way, and that’s the fun of it.

JOE ZIEGENFUSS

2008-12-29T14:01:00.002-06:00

In keeping with the recent theme of mixing in some more unique interviews, I thought the winter would be the perfect time to include some interviews with ultra marathoners. One such runner quickly making a name for himself is Joe Ziegenfuss. A quick search of onlineraceresults.com shows very rapid improvement since his first race in 2001. The 34-year-old Minnetoka resident’s marathon time has dropped from 3:39 to 2:51. And maybe more impressive has been his recent success at ultras in just the last year and a half. For example, he’s won the FANS 12-hour with 78 miles, won the Chippewa Moraine 50k, won the Afton 50k, won the Voyageur Trail 50 Mile (his first 50) and took second at the Superior Trail 100 Mile (his first 100) and second at the Superior Trail 50k. Heck, such success for someone who I’ve finished near on the roads may even be enough to drive me to try an ultra.

When and how did you get involved with running?
I ran informally (3 miles here or there) up until I was 26 to stay in shape for soccer. I didn’t run on a high school or college team. In 2001, I was convinced to try a race – the Get in Gear 10k.

When did you get involved with ultras and what drew you to them?
Once I discovered trail races I found I enjoyed them more than road races. It seems the natural progression is from shorter trail race to longer trail race. My first ultra was the Superior 50k in 2007. Around the same time I decided to run the FANS 12 hour race. Winning FANS convinced me that I was more cut out for the longer distances, while also convincing me I preferred trails.

In such a short timeframe, you seem to have more success at the ultras than at the shorter road races. What do you attribute that to?
I think that in order to excel in the shorter road races, one needs a running upbringing, or pedigree. I don’t fall into this category. The ultra seems to reward good runners, but endurance and mental toughness are also key components. I also realize that I am relatively new to ultras and still have much to learn.

Do you tend to follow any certain training program? What is your training philosophy and how does it differ from say a marathon to an ultra?
I go through phases where I adhere to strict training schedules, and then times when I run more based on a loose schedule with key workouts and runs. On most weekends that I don’t race I try to run long (> 20 miles). My training partners not only help me enjoy my workouts but also push me from a competitive perspective. Hill workouts are a staple. Mileage is key when training for a marathon or an ultra – the more the better assuming you stay healthy. I believe that you must enjoy training to a degree, yet you must continue to push yourself as hard as you can. I have specific races that I train through, never giving my legs a true rest period, and then key races where I arrive fresh. I also find that a lot of racing makes it hard to have prolonged training cycles, but this is a trade off I am willing to make because I enjoy racing.

My philosophy doesn’t differ much between training for an ultra or a marathon. Obviously, with an ultra the long runs are longer than those for a marathon. For a marathon, I usually get one 25-28 mile training run in, and for an ultra it would be longer.

Training is work, and the rewards come on race day.

I think most people go through a period – no matter what distance they’re referring to – where they say, “That’s crazy!” In many cases, those same people find themselves signing up for such an event. What do you say when someone tells you that running an ultra is crazy?
I usually say that it is all relative. You don’t just go out and run an ultra. For someone who doesn’t run at all, a 10k may be crazy. But if they start running and build up to it, then it becomes a reasonable distance. The ultra is no different. If someone usually runs 20 miles a week and a half marathon once a year, then an ultra is out of reach for them. For those that have built their mileage up to the marathon distance, moving to a 50k isn’t a crazy step.

What advice do you have for people that may be thinking about training for a 50-mile ultra?
Put the training in. There are no shortcuts or secrets. Shoes, gear, and gadgets all have their place, but in the end it all comes down to training. For training and for the actual race, concentrate on breaking it up into small, attainable sections. Make your first goal to run 30 miles, or for 6 hours, or whatever is applicable, and build from there. Train on terrain similar to what you will be racing on. Also, never skimp on shoes or socks, your feet are too valuable to be running on shoes that are not correct (true for any running but more so for ultras).

What are your goals for 2009?
First and foremost, I want to stay injury free while continuing to improve and get faster. I was fortunate to be able to run more miles than ever in 2008 with more success while managing 1-year-old twins at home. I have a goal to continue managing both of these aspects of my life.

I am still finalizing my 2009 specific goals, but at this point they are looking like this;

- PR at the half (1:18) and full (2:46) marathon distance (road)
- Beat my training partners at the Trail Mix 50k
- Lower my time at the Afton 50k
- Compete in one or two of the larger out of state ultras
- Complete and better my time in a 100 miler

Will we be seeing you at other shorter, local road races during the year?
I hope so. I do enjoy the shorter races. I get great enjoyment out of the pain of a 5k, trying to catch those in front of you or to hold off others. There is a competitive element to the short races. I would like to lower my PR in some of the shorter distances. My schedule for the year is not completely set, so I will work in shorter local races around my ultra schedule. I have always done Get in Gear, and hope to again this year. Others I have on my radar are the TCM 1 miler, Human Race 8k, Ron Daws 25k, MDRA Mudball, Trail Loppet, and TCM. There are others which I would like to run but probably will not fit into my schedule.

What are your PRs?

1 mile – 4:57
5k – 16:59
10k – 35:32
Half Marathon – 1:20:49
Marathon – 2:51:49
50k trail – 4:02:09
50 Mile trail – 7:36:19
12 hour – 77.8 miles
100 Mile trail – 23:46:39

All except for the 12 hour and half marathon (I didn’t run either this year) were set in 2008.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I consider my ability to run in any extreme condition (hot, cold, icy, hilly, etc.) a strength. Running and racing vastly different distances with success during the same training period is an asset. I have been able to stay relatively injury free with high mileage.

As for weaknesses, I sometimes need to hook up with other runners to get a workout in, and finding the motivation to run solo at times is tough. Diet is important and I have some work to do in this area.

Do you have a favorite trail race or ultra? Why?
I have only done it once, but I really enjoyed the Trail Loppet on the Wirth trails in Minneapolis. This run is located on the trails where I began running. I consider these my home base trails. Pikes Peak Marathon, which I completed this year in 21st place, would be right up there too. This year there was a snowstorm the day before and this made for a great experience. For the ultra distance, I would say Afton has been my favorite. There are so many races out there that I am sure my favorite is yet to be discovered.

What is your fondest running memory?
There are numerous. Sprinting down the hill at the finish of the Superior 100 miler this fall was a memory I will not forget. The first time I saw Pikes Peak I said I was going to run up it, so finishing the Pikes Peak Marathon was a highlight. Winning the Afton 50k this year with the quality field of runners in attendance was rewarding. There are also those times when you are running solo on fresh legs through a new trail in the fall that stick out.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I have found that there is a lot to learn from listening to trail veterans. I have picked up advice from many of them, and hope to meet and run with many more. I would choose to run with Scott Jurek and pick his brain on training. From a non-running perspective, I would go for a run with Bob Dylan.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
It took me many attempts of failing at the marathon distance before I figured it out; I wish I would have learned that lesson earlier. I wish I would have known that you need bigger shoes for running than you do for soccer, which would have saved me many toenails through the years. Other than that, I am glad I didn’t know much at first and had to learn along the way.

EMILY NASLUND

2008-12-15T20:59:00.013-06:00

If you've followed the running scene in Minnesota at all, the chances are good that you've heard the name Naslund. Jeannine and John's names have been scattered throughout race results for the last 30-some years. Their daughter Emily is no stranger to running in Minnesota either. As a student at Bloomington Jefferson, she placed 2nd at the State Cross Country Meet as a freshman, won the individual title as a sophomore, and then helped win a team title her junior year. The 25-year-old is now a 1stLt in the Marines and proudly serving in Iraq. Having served 4 years in the navy myself, which included many holidays away from friends and family, I thought it would be very appropriate to share her story during this time of year.

First, can you give us a brief description of your title, job, and mission in Iraq? How long is this tour and where do you go from there?
My job title is 1st Platoon Commander, Truck Company, I MEF Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force. How's that for a mouth full? I'm stationed at Camp Fallujah, Iraq which is located about 3km (or as we call it 3 clicks) east of the city of Fallujah, and about 24 clicks west of Baghdad International Airport.

I have 37 Marines under my charge and our mission is to conduct tactical logistics convoys all over Al Anbar Province to deliver supplies such as ammo, food, water, fuel, etc. - and for the Air Force Bases, ice cream. I have run well over 100 convoys, traveling around 17,000 miles on the Main Supply Routes of Iraq.

We are here on a year-long deployment, but since we showed up as the advance party, and are leaving with the last wave, my time spent in Iraq will be 13 month and 2 days by the time we leave. When I return home I plan on first sleeping for a week straight - waking up only to eat American (non-chow hall) food. Then, hopefully I will start training for a deployment to Afghanistan.

How has running helped with your job as a Marine?
Marines are expected to be physically fit, so my background in competitive running has helped me out quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, most Marines hate to run, but we are all fueled by our desire to be the best at everything so we run to maintain that stature.

The first day I showed up to this unit and met my platoon I introduced myself, gave them a quick background of my life, and told them we were going to have platoon commander’s physical training the following morning at 0600. I wanted to set the standard high and let them know that I expected them to be in top physical shape. They formed up, did their stretching and then I hazed them for 7 miles through the hills of Camp Pendleton, CA. I found out later that they were warned that I was a fan of running, so they weren’t surprised when it became a morning ritual.

Some of them were under the impression that the running would stop once we got in-country, but there’s plenty of time out here to run. If there isn’t time, we can make time. There were days when the Marines would get off a 12-hour mission and I’d tell them, “Great convoy Marines, I’ll see you in 20 minutes in PT gear outside my office.” After about 3 months of a grueling PT program, the Marines were in great shape and started to enjoy pushing their bodies to the limit. I continued to push them, but realized after about 6 months that they were hooked and no longer needed me to motivate them. From then on, I let my Platoon Sergeant and Squad Leaders run the PT program and it’s had the same intensity as that first day we met.

In 2007 you ran the Rock 'n Roll Marathon in San Diego with your dad. How was that experience?
Running a marathon is always an adventure, especially with my dad. Because he is always training for the next race, he is a very reliable marathon partner. I, on the other hand, don’t exactly train with as much zeal or consistency. Training for a Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test, which consists of a 3-mile run, pull-ups, and sit-ups, is quite different then marathon training. That was one of the most painful races I’ve ever run, but my dad (once again) pulled me through. By mile 22 he was singing country songs to try and motivate me to run. Since I hate the real twangy country type music, he figured if he started singing that way – it would motivate me to get moving again.

This year you planned on running the Marine Corp Marathon at Camp Fallujah. I imagine marathon training in Iraq, especially during the summer and in the middle of a war, is less than ideal. How did you and the other runners cope with that?
We are in a war zone. Marathons are not the focus, so there are very few who come up with and stick to an actual marathon training schedule. Many of us run to stay in shape or to deal with the stress of being deployed, but the end goal isn’t a fast marathon time. There was only one person that I knew who trained religiously for the race, which was extremely impressive considering his job. GySgt Kazmar was the senior enlisted Marine in charge of the Personal Security Detail for the Deputy Commanding General in Iraq. His job was to escort and protect the General wherever he chose to go. In his spare time, which he didn’t really have, he ran impressive workouts, sometimes going out in the mid-day heat to get his miles in.

He collected pledges from the states to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, having had friends get seriously wounded in this war. He was the only Marine who actually finished all 26.2 miles of the race. After I explain how race day went, you’ll be even more impressed and will agree that Gunny Kazmar is incredibly driven.

What happened on race day?
The race was going to be run at a different base, north of where I’m stationed, called Al Asad (AA). Otherwise known as “Camp Cupcake” because of all the amenities. There were three of us planning on running, so we decided to try and fly to AA by helicopter. Flying standby in Iraq is a lot like flying standby on a commercial airliner. There’s a lot of standing around waiting for your name to be called. The only difference in Iraq is flights can be cancelled due to reasons like; dust storms, indirect fire threats, medical evacuations that are on going, or if the pilots are tired from conducting a mission the night prior. There hadn’t been a dust storm for at least a month, but of course Mother Nature thought, “How could I make the marathon even more miserable? How bout a dust storm?” All flights were cancelled.

We had been running convoys to AA about every three days so our plan B was to convoy up the night before the race. Obviously, that wasn’t preferred because the race was starting at 0600 and the convoy would arrive around 0400 that same morning. We were determined to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon Iraq - after all, there was a free t-shirt involved – so the convoy would have to work. We got as much rest as we could the day before even with having to plan and conduct a mission. At 2200 we got into the trucks and we were off to AA. The roads are not smooth and the sitting with a flak jacket/kevlar on is not the most comfortable way to travel, so by the time we got there it felt like… well, like we just finished a mission.

When we got to AA at 0300, the dust had gone away and was replaced by a thunder storm. AA sits in what used to be a river bed, so when it rains everything floods. This wasn’t any ol’ thunderstorm, this was a sign from God that we shouldn’t be running a marathon. We parked the vehicles and made our way into the transient billeting which consists of a large tent with military style cots inside. The tent was howling as the wind picked up and it was pouring rain. There was one other runner in the “female only” runner tent – and when we stumbled in at 0400 soaking wet she wasn’t happy about her beauty sleep being interrupted. I wanted to be like, “Look Marine, we just got off a convoy, we’re tired, soaking wet, and we’re running the same race you are tomorrow – so quit looking at me like we are putting you out.” It was a good thing I kept my mouth shut because she ended up being a Captain.

We weren’t stationed at AA, so we had to show up early to pick up our numbers. 0500 was the packet pick up time – so instead of napping we just stayed up and tried to get warm. We made our way over to the gym where the packets could be picked up and it was still pouring rain. The gym at Camp Cupcake is nice, so we had a place to get in out of the rain. There were about 100 people who showed up to run, which was more then I expected to see, considering the conditions. The race was going to start at 0630. They wanted to beat the heat – only that backfired because the temperatures had dropped to the 50’s. There was lightning close by so the start time was postponed in order to keep the runners safe. At 0800 they made an announcement that the race would begin in 30 minutes no matter what. They also informed us that the course wouldn’t be open longer than originally planned, so instead of having 6 hours to finish, we only had 4:30. “If you want to run a half marathon instead, that will be OK,” the race director said. Because we were all Marines, everyone exchanged looks and said “YEAH RIGHT”.

The race finally started at 0830 in the still pouring rain. The roads had about an inch of water so everyone’s shoes were soaked by mile 2. At the 10km, we came up to a street corner, which was under 2 feet of muddy water. No one slowed down, we just sloshed through it yelling “OORAH… GET SOME… MOTIVATE… BRING IT!” The only good thing about the ridiculous conditions was that it kept our mind off or any sort of misery that comes with muscle fatigue. We were too busy trying not to drown in the flooded streets of AA. At mile 8 we started our first of four turn- arounds, and continued to yell motivation to our fellow Marine marathoners.

We were heading back towards the start line when we started hearing from the volunteers, “All runners head straight to the finish line. The race has been officially cancelled.” My running partners and I looked at each other and laughed saying, “That’s a messed up joke.” When we realized that it really was cancelled, everyone angrily ran to the finish line to hear why this amazing adventure race could possibly be cancelled. We found out that a levy had broken somewhere near miles 10-13 and that stretch of road was chest deep in water. Initially, we didn’t care and told them it was a poor excuse. Later we found out there were also downed power lines that had landed in the water, as well as about 10 porta-potties floating down the road. I was up for an adventure, but swimming down a road with porta-potties floating next to me was a little over the top.

We did get a free t-shirt!

You're no stranger to running in Minnesota with an individual title and team title under your belt. What do you remember most from your high school days as a runner?
The races I remember the most were the track and field State Meet my freshmen year, the cross country state meet my freshmen and sophomore year, and Footlocker track and field nationals both of those years. Although I enjoyed track more than cross-country, both seasons were fun and there was always an adventure to be had.

My favorite thing to do in HS was to take my team on Naslund adventure runs. These runs were nothing more then me leading the team into some park, nature trail, or neighborhood – inevitably getting us lost and having to navigate our way back to the start point. I would always get excited when I saw a new trail and say, “Hey, check it out! Let’s see where this trail goes.” There were other girls on the team that acted as the voice of reason, but we always ended up checking it out and it almost always backfired. At least we have stories to tell and adventures to talk about. Adventures like getting stuck in a huge hole about 10’ deep x 40’ wide x 20’ long, coming to an icy creek – wading through it – and continuing to run on the other side, and trying to cross a swamp with about half the girls losing their shoes in the knee deep mud.

Actually, come to think of it, HS prepared me pretty well for the Marine Corps.

Given that you're the leader of a Marine platoon, is it safe to say that the team title you won was more rewarding than the individual title you won?
Running is very much an individual sport, but team titles are always special too. The reason our team state title meant so much was because we broke Duluth East’s 7-year winning streak. They talked trash every year about being the best, but that year we showed up with so much talent there was nothing that could stop us. I ran with the same girls from 7th grade until senior year, so we knew each other pretty well and had some great times at the meets. Everyone worked hard at practice and it paid of when it came time to compete. There’s no better feeling then standing on the top of the podium with my team.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I was surprised at how I reacted when we hit IEDs while out here. I didn’t panic and was able to direct my Marines to safely recover from the attacks. You never know how you’ll react to something like that until you are put into that situation. So, my strength is to stay calm when presented with a problem.

My greatest fear is to lose a Marine in an attack and having to live the rest of my life feeling like I should have done something different. My weakness would be dealing with that situation.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Hands down, my dad. When I do have the opportunity, I don’t take him up on the offers as much as I should. When I was in Hawaii on R&R with my family, like clockwork, every morning I’d get a wake up call from him and an invitation to go for a run. I only took him up on the offer several times because I figured it would be months before I got the opportunity to sleep in every day. When I got back to Iraq, one of my biggest regrets was not getting out there and spending an extra hour with my parents each day. We’ve had a lot of heart to heart talks while running along the beaches of Hawaii, around the lakes in Minneapolis, in the dome, and through Hyland Park.

Finally, is there anything else you'd like us to know about you, your Marines, Iraq, etc.?My Marines are amazing, hard-working, and genuine people who continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Please keep them in your prayers. This year has been hard on them, but they still have challenges coming up. Getting adjusted back to life in the civilian world will be difficult and will take some time.

Thanks again for the support and Semper Fi,
1stLt Emily Naslund
“Top Gun”
emilynaslund@mac.com

SCOTT CHAPIN

2008-12-12T09:30:00.002-06:00

This time of year it's always nice to branch out a little and interview people that mix it up a little more when it comes to aerobic activities. This issue of Running Minnesota takes us back across the border and into Wisconsin again. This time we venture to Hayward, home of the American Birkebeiner (Birkie) and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. Given that those are Scott Chapin's two favorite races, it no surprise that the 38-year-old River Falls native moved there after college. With the success that Scott has achieved running, biking and skiing, triathletes all over the Midwest are thankful that he "swims like granite".

First, for the Minnesotans that may not be familiar with your name, what are some of your running, biking, and skiing accolades?
18th place Twin Cities Marathon, 3rd or 4th Place Grandma’s Half, 16th place at Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (2008), 28th Place American Birkebeiner...I have done hundreds of races.

Rank the following; swimming, biking, running, and skiing. Why?
Biking, Skiing, Running, Swimming. I used to be a “pure” runner, but I started skiing and biking for cross training about 14 years ago. I still enjoy doing running races, but mountain biking and skiing are more enjoyable due to the speeds. I swim like granite.

Which activity did you take up first and when did you get involved with the others?
I started running in 9th grade and ran in college at UW-Eau Claire. I started skiing and biking my senior year in college. I did the Birkie when I was just finishing up college and became hooked. Mountain biking was something I was “dabbling” in. I did a few races in my early 20’s and then started really getting into it in my early 30’s.

With so many different aerobic activities how do you choose and what kind of training plan do you follow?
I use the same general format for each sport. I try to peak for about a month for each sport, when my most important/biggest races are. It's a pretty simple plan that includes a long base building period with weekly hard efforts. The harder efforts become more of a focus towards the peak period. Then, I will cut my mileage and really concentrate on the hard speed/strength day. We do weekly time trials in the summer on the mountain bike, which really helps with strength, fitness, and bike handling skills. Same deal in the winter with skiing.

What are your goals for 2009?
Just try to be as fast as last year. I'm 38 years old now, and that is all I can hope for.

Will we see you at any Minnesota races?
Yes, City of Lakes Loppet, Pepsi Challenge, Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, a few running events in Duluth. And probably one or two mountain bike MN Series races and a couple duathlons,

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strengths are longer races. I am not much of a sprinter and have trouble with races that go out too quickly.

What are your running PRs?
5K - 14:48 (long time ago)
10K - 31:00 (long time ago)
Half - 1:09
Marathon - 2:25

What is your fondest athletic memory?
Probably my first marathon, which was Twin Cities. I was 23 years old. It was also the Master’s World Championships. I was running with a Mexican, Polish, and Russian master’s runner. The announcer said as I was finishing “here comes the top unseeded runner.” I didn’t know they were talking about me until my college coach told me. 18th overall, 9th American. I really couldn’t believe it.

Do you have a favorite event and what makes it so special?
Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. It is a fun atmosphere from start to finish. You have to experience it to totally understand what makes it so special.

Do you have any advice for someone that may be thinking about taking up skiing?
Get some lessons right away! It is much easier to learn the correct techniques, than it is trying to change your habits later.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running, biking and/or skiing?
I wish I knew how to control my asthma symptoms and that “carbo loading” can actually harm performances. I did not know how to “eat” for marathon distance races.

BILL ATKINS

2008-12-03T20:39:00.003-06:00

On some accounts it’s easy for me to relate to Bill Atkins. Like me, he was small in high school, his first love was another sport, and he thought it’d be cool to have a letterman’s jacket. Then there are things I can't relate to; 106 miles in a week within his 2nd year of running, 4:13 mile speed, a 10-year layoff, etc. After his layoff, the 47-year-old Hastings resident is back to tearing up the roads. Ideally, we’d all like to run well throughout the entire season. However, as Bill’s 2008 season shows, that’s not always the case. Sometimes even the best laid plans lead to burnout before the season's end.

How did you first get involved with running – did you run in high school and/or college?
My first organized “running” experience was cross country in 7th grade at the urging of my basketball coach Bruce Johnson who happened to be the cross country coach at Anoka High school. I don’t remember training very much but we ran barefoot on the grass at the meets - I fell in love with the individual aspect of the sport.

I really didn’t start running again until I was a junior in high school. I loved football so much I kept playing even though I was small (5’5” 105 lbs) as a sophomore. A broken hand gave me time on the sidelines to realistically see that I was too small to compete at the high school level. I went out for cross country my junior year after meeting a kid in my gym class who had lettered as a sophomore. I remember thinking it would be cool to have a letterman’s jacket. The next fall I was introduced to high mileage. Our coach (Doug Beck) was a big believer in the Lydiard system and he had team awards for running the most miles per week. By the third week of the season I ran 106 miles to edge out my buddy for the weekly award. We were tired all the time but logging those miles made me stronger and I went from being seventh man on the team to number one by the end of the year. I still have never run more miles in a week. I never made it to the state meet, but was close my senior year where I missed in cross country, cross country skiing and track by one place! I ran for the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse for two cross country seasons then later at St. Cloud State for one cross country and one track season.

In general, what is your training philosophy and how has it changed over time? As a teacher, how does having the summers off affect your training?
I’ve always believed in putting in the miles. When I was running my best, I was logging around 80-90 a week which I could only maintain for small chunks of time—maybe two or three months. I’ve never been able to go year after year or even month after month doing high mileage. Something in my makeup doesn’t allow it. I get bored or have doubts about what I’m doing and switch to something else. It is probably more mental than physical. Now I shoot for the “magical” 70-mile barrier if I can. I’ve always wondered what I could have done if I would put together a year of 100 mile weeks...

As a teacher, one might think having extra time in the summer would be ideal for putting in a ton of miles. I do run but I prefer the cooler fall and winter weather. I especially love winter running. There’s nothing like doing a long run with the hard packed snow crunching beneath your feet. Maybe it’s the feeling that not too many people would be out there running in weather like that. I’d rather run in 10 degrees below zero than 85 degrees and humid any day. I also despise the treadmill. I own one out of necessity but its pure torture for me… Give me a woodchip or grass trail any day.

Now that 2008 in nearly over, what do you see when you reflect on the year?
I think I raced too much and had a long season that started at the Meet of Miles in January and ran through the Twin Cities 10-Mile. I got caught up in the MDRA Grand Prix and was actually leading for a while but crashed toward the end. My times did improve from the year before and I’m getting closer to the leaders in my age group so I am making progress. I need to keep shedding weight. I was racing at about 162 lbs and that’s too heavy for a guy who was 105 lbs in high school! I won’t be able to compete with the Pat Billigs, Pete Kesslers and Dan Carlsons until I drop another 10 or 15 pounds. I have to be patient and remember that 4 years ago I weighed 206 lbs!

You mentioned being a little burnt out by the time your key race, TC-10, rolled around. Can you point to anything in your training and/or racing that may have caused that?
Again, I over did it. Too many long races for me. I think I ran three half marathons, a marathon and a 25K. My training tailed off over the summer and I wasn’t as consistent with my mileage as I would have liked to be. For some reason I never got the speed work/mileage thing balanced out. I remember running the Rochester Half Marathon and hitting the mile mark and was thinking, “Holy crap I can’t go any faster,” yet I was able to hold that pace throughout the race. I was sure I would have a few races where the early pace felt easy but I never did. It felt like every race I was “balls to the wall” red-lining right from the gun. Every race I was just hanging on. So I’m thinking that my speed work needs to be tinkered with next year.

Runner of the Year rankings show you moving up from 10th in 2007 to 8th in 2008 for your age-group. Does ROY ranking help motivate you or is it more something you look at after the fact?
I do look at that kind of stuff and it does help motivate me to a point. I know what I need to do to be competitive again and the guys ahead of me will hopefully see a slimmer version of me next year… and my shadow off their right shoulder.

What are your goals for 2009?
I want to keep making gains on the leaders in my age group and to be a factor in races not just a spectator. I have signed up for the Boston Marathon and that is my short-term focus. Since high school I’ve always wanted to run Boston, so we will see what a winter of marathon training will do for the rest of 2009. I will be more selective in my races, that’s for sure.

What do you consider your strengths?
I believe I’m pretty economical in terms of running form. I don’t bob up and down or back and forth much. I think I’ve always been able to lay it on the line. When the time comes in a race to back off or puke, I normally pick puke and hope I can keep it down. I don’t know maybe that’s a weakness too.

Weaknesses?
Being able to lay out a plan and stick to it. I get antsy and think, “Hey maybe I should try this or that?” I struggle with commitment I guess. Heat, humidity, high dew points, certain foods and wine are also nemesis of mine.

What are your PRs?

Before 46:
4:13 mile
14:45 5k
24:01 8k
30:39 10k
1:07:58 half marathon
2:34:37 marathon

After 46:
4:55 Mile
17:09 5k
27:56 8k
36:28 10k
1:18:55 half marathon
3:02:52 marathon

What is your fondest running memory?
I have many fond memories, from the lifelong friends I’ve made and people I have met at races, to the days when everything was clicking and I felt like this is what I was born to do. I remember a couple races that stand out: The first one was the Statehood Days Ten Mile in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was really windy on the way “out” on an out-and-back course and at the turnaround I happened to be in the lead pack. It felt like we were walking. I knew I needed to be in a good position when we turned back with the wind so I moved up and turned around the cone and found myself in the lead. I figured what the hell and stepped on the gas. The sixth mile was 4:35 and that was the end of me in the lead pack! I think I hung on for sixth or seventh place in 51 minutes. I liked the feeling that even if for only a moment I was dictating the pace surrounded by runners that were better than me. The second one was St. Patrick’s Day five mile (now the Human Race) where I ran 24:01. Coming down the last straightaway and seeing the clock and trying to sneak in under twenty four minutes, leaning at the line thinking that I might have, then finding out I actually ran 24:00.02 and then later learning that they round up to the next second. Damn!! That was fun!

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I used to really enjoy being a part of a post collegiate team. I was around when Club Sota first started and then Racer’s Edge and now with Run-and-Fun. I am looking forward to running more team workouts like we did in the past and getting to know my teammates. As far as individuals, growing up in Anoka I always heard stories of Mark Nenow and Steve Hoag. I have run with Mark a couple times but I never really got to know him or find out what made him tick. I’ve never met or ran with Steve but I went to Jr. High with his sister Barb who was actually a very good runner. She was the third man (girl) on my 7th grade boy’s team.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I would have appreciated how difficult it is to get back to a respectable level after taking ten years off from running. Not just losing weight but the whole gambit of racing and pushing myself and making it hurt. It’s a journey that continues.

DAN MORSE

2008-11-22T14:59:00.005-06:00

If setting a Minnesota age record is one of the criteria you use to determine who’s running well, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who had a better 2008 than Dan Morse. The 55-year-old Minneapolis resident set age records in every distance from 1 mile to 25K. Normally I hate to put too many numbers in the introduction, but this time I’m going to make an exception. Here are the records Dan set for 55-year-olds this year;

1 Mile – 5:03
1 Mile – 4:52
5K – 17:01
5 Mile – 29:00
10K - 35:54
15K – 55:26
10 Mile – 1:00:55
Half Marathon – 1:20:22
25K – 1:36:42

And after all those race, he jumped in TCM and ended up placing 2nd in his age group with a 2:56:43. With all those performances, it’s no surprise that he’s leading the 55-59 Runner of the Year rankings with a perfect score. (Photo by Bruce Adelsman at Skinnyski.com.)

I think it’s safe to say you’ve had a very good 2008. What do you attribute your success this year to?
My success this year is mostly due to consistent training. I’ve had no injuries since an Achilles issue that ended in March 2007.

Did moving into a new age-group help motivate you?
Not the new age-group, per-se. Bigger motivators were the single age records (and some 5 year age records) that were within reach. Either there weren’t many certified courses when Alex Ratelle was 55 or he wasn’t racing that year. It gets harder to get records as I move through the age group. It will be possible for me to have even better years in the future and not get any records. It also helps that the long list of guys (Michael Seaman, Doug Suker, Rob Whetham, etc) who used to beat me didn’t race much at age 55. I also use age-graded results to motivate me. I’m not quite sure what to make of them. I’m running higher percentage age-graded results then I ever have. I think it just means that I have slowed down less than average.

While you tend to focus on the shorter distances, this year you “snuck” into TCM. What was your reasoning for breaking from your normal routine?
1 - My wife was having some friends over to watch the marathon (we live at mile 17) and it provided them with another person to specifically cheer for. They wouldn’t have seen me in the 10-mile.
2 - I thought I could run fast enough to place in my age group based on the results from recent years.
3 - It helped my Run ‘n Fun teammate, Jerry Beutel, break the tie between him and Denny Jordan in the Runner of the Year rankings.
4 - My competitors would react in bewilderment when they heard about my switch to the marathon.

Sometimes people - runners and non-runners - get so caught up in the Marathon that results in other events seem to carry less weight – no matter how spectacular those results are. Did that have something to do with your decision to run the marathon this year?
No, not at all. If people think I’m not a real runner because I don’t (or didn’t) do marathons, that’s just fine. I’m ok with concentrating on shorter races. That’s what I’m better at and that’s what I like better.

In general, what is your training philosophy when you’re training for shorter races? How did that change for the marathon?
Each week I do a longish run (10-14 miles), hit the track for something quick and do a lactate threshold run. I stretched the long run a bit for the City of Lakes 25K and did a 17-mile run a few weeks before it. Then, COL was another 17-mile run 4 weeks before the marathon. I didn’t have time to change anything for the marathon. I got the crazy idea to run the marathon the Friday before the race. The beauty of signing up 2 days before the race was that I didn’t breakdown from over-training. Also, since I didn’t invest any time or mental energy in training for the marathon I was very relaxed about the race and didn’t worry about the weather. I heard it rained that day. Is that right?

How did the race go, off of that training?
Based on my 25K, the McMillan calculator predicted around 2:50. Since I didn’t train for the marathon distance my plan was to try to break 3:00. That was probably a good plan. The race went very well and I was able to run negative (1:29:10/1:27:30) splits. I never hit the wall and I even felt like I could have even run a cool-down. Do marathoners do that?

At the end of February of this year you teamed up with Dave Tappe, Bobby Paxton, and Brad Givot to set a world age group record for the 4 x 1 mile relay for 50-54 year olds. With the number of strong Masters and Grand Masters in the area has there been any talk of building on what you guys started? [To read more about this event, check out this Down the Backstretch post.]
I’ve been approached by several new 50 year olds, like Doug Keller and Bill Magdalene, who are interested in being on a relay. Relays are a lot of fun. Unfortunately, for me there are more than three 50+ guys who are faster than I am. I guess I will have to be the captain so I can be sure to be on the team. I’m not sure how we will choose the team or if St. Olaf is willing to add the relay to one of their meets. It sure would be nice to get the record under 20 minutes.

What do you have planned for 2009?
Try to stay healthy and not slow down too much. Perhaps run an age-graded percentage personal best. As far as racing goes, my race schedule centers around races in the USATF-MN team series. I add a few more special races to that. I plan to do TCM next year, but won’t do anything differently, training-wise, from this year.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
Strengths – I close well in races. I can go deep into the well, on occasion, and will finish horizontally. I don’t do that as often as Mike Seaman did. It seems like he did that every race. I combine ambition with realism. I think I show-up when it counts, and will give my team the best I’ve got on the day. I race well tactically. I’ve found a brownie recipe that tastes right for me – that’ a Dennis Barker analogy about many recipes being tasty but you have to have the basic ingredients, although the ratios can change.

Weaknesses – I sweat too much and weigh too much to be good at longer races.

What are your PRs?

800 - 2:02
Mile - 4:23
5K - 15:23
8K - 25:40
10K - 32:22
½ Mar - 1:13 (in a 25K)
25K - 1:26:52
Marathon - 2:37:32

How did you first get involved with running?
I started running in December of 1977 to lose weight and get in shape for basketball. It turned out I was better at running than at basketball.

What is your fondest running memory?
I have had so many, it’s really hard to choose. Group runs are great. Coaching was a wonderful experience, particularly coaching my sons and also being my son’s assistant at Roseville. From a running accomplishment standpoint, it would have to be in 1990 when the 3M Team of Brad Givot, Don Landin, Rob Whetham, Mike Gebeke and I took 2nd in the International Championship of the Manufacturers Hanover Corporate Challenge.

You do some “volunteer running” early Saturday mornings. Can you tell us a little bit about that program and how you got involved?
I run with some guys from Minnesota Teen Challenge on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. It’s a faith-based residential drug and alcohol treatment program. The students aren’t allowed to leave the facility unsupervised, so they need an approved volunteer to take them. My wife answered the call a couple years ago to work with students on the contracts they must fulfill during their 13 months in the program. The contracts are written to help the students deal specifically with the issues that contribute to their drug use. She encouraged me to also volunteer. In January I started spending an evening a week at their Steven’s House facility encouraging them, speaking into their lives, and basically sharing the love of Christ. In May when I went directly from the TCM Mile to MNTC to volunteer and the guys found out that I was a runner. They started working on their Dean to allow me to take them running a couple times a week. I started taking them running in June.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I would like to run with Van Nelson. If I ran with him that would mean his career wouldn’t have ended early due to a freak accident.
I would also like to still be running with my sons. You can’t get better quality time than to have their undivided attention during a long run.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
That depends on the definition of “started running”. I ran a couple weeks as a sophomore for high school track. I wish I knew that I wasn’t a 100-meter runner and that a 4:40 mile in gym class was fast.

When I restarted in 1977, I wish I knew that my football coach was right. You need salt tablets if you’re going to sweat a lot.

PAUL BROWN

2008-10-04T16:17:00.004-05:00

It's the eve of the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon and there's really no way to avoid thinking about the race. Hopefully posting this interview with Paul Brown will be enough to inspire us all - whether we're running tomorrow or not. The 51-year old Waconia resident is having a great year - especially at the longer distances where he's set two state age records and won his age-group at Grandma's Marathon in 2:50:48. As he laces up his shoes tomorrow, he'll have thoughts of another age-group win at TCM on his mind. (Photo by Curt Lyons)

When and how did you first get involved with running? Did you run in high school or college? What other sports did you play as a kid?
I started running competitively in 8th grade and lettered for 4 years at Halstad High School, which is now called Norman County West in northwest Minnesota. I ran the 880 in the 1975 and 1976 Minnesota State meets with a PR of 2:01.3. I ran middle distance and lettered for 4 years at Concordia College in Moorhead. I played varsity football, basketball and baseball in high school. I liked football so much that I never ran cross-country in college but opted for flag football.

Would you say you experienced success in running right away or did it take awhile?
In my first race as an 8th grader I finished 2nd in the conference indoor mile which probably says more about the competition than my ability. I did not work at it very hard until my junior year when I started to have more success. I dabbled in road racing during medical school but got injured training for the first TCM in 1983 and did not run much for several years. Similarly, after I got married and had 2 children I would run maybe 20 miles per week before I got the running bug again in 1998 when I ran my first marathon at age 41. My mileage increased and my times dropped and I set most of my PRs at age 46.

Doug Keller just turned 50 and is having a great year. However, with the help of two state age records, as well as an age group win at Grandma’s Marathon, you’re only trailing him by 1 point in the ROY rankings for 50-54 year olds. Are you happy with how your season has gone? What’s your goal for TCM?
I am very happy with success I have had this year in my age group, although my times have slipped a bit. I have had only 1 minor injury and have been running faster as the dew point drops. Winning my age group at Grandma's was a great thrill and the state records are motivation to train harder. I hope to run sub 2:50 and be a top 3 in my age group at the TCM. Since it is the USATF Master's Championship you never know who will show up, but I think I have a chance at winning since I was 2nd last year.

You mentioned to me that 70 mpw is a big week for you. Relatively speaking, that’s not a lot of miles, so I find it interesting that you seem to excel at the longer races. What do you consider your favorite/best distance? And what’s your secret; do you substitute your mileage with any cross training, run lots of speedwork, avoid injuries, etc.?
My best distances are the half, 25K and 30K. I am not sure why, as a former half-miler who ran a 4:50 mile this year, I cannot run a bit faster 10K. I have no great secrets but I race myself into shape (27 races this year) and typically do some fartlek training once per week. I lift weights twice per week using a routine I learned from Luke Carlson at Discover Strength who is an evidenced-based weight lifting coach. Everyone starts to lose muscle mass around age 40 and weight lifting can at least slow the process and I think it helps reduce injuries. For example, doing heel raisers on a step is scientifically proven to heal achilles tendonitis, so doing that exercise will also prevent the injury. Similarly you can resolve a lot of cases of IT band syndrome by strengthening the hip abductor muscles so those same exercises may prevent IT band syndrome.

In general, what is your training philosophy and how does your training change once the season ends?
My training philosophy is to run a lot of races from March until October and lift weights year round. I only run 20-30 miles/week from December until March because I think running a lot of miles in the off season wears you down physically and psychologically and does not serve much purpose if you are not racing - especially as you get older. You can get all the health benefits from running much lower mileage. My running cycle is to run 3 weeks of 60-70 miles/week and then 1 week of 40 miles/week. I like to run a lot of half marathon length races. I aim to peak for Grandma's then take a week off by going on a fishing trip to a resort in Canada where there are no roads and then start over aiming for TCM.

Have you thought about 2009 yet? If so, what are your goals and how do you top this year?
I have basically followed the same training routine for 4 years and have only had 1 injury that kept me from racing for any length of time so I will follow that template. I probably will lose some speed next year but I think I can be competitive in my age group for most races. I hope to challenge a few records or top-10 times.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strengths are a motivation to work hard and endure a lot of discomfort if I have an attainable goal. My weaknesses are difficulty running well in high humidity and a dislike for running in the cold dark months.

What are your PRs (all-time and Masters)?
I do not recall any of my race times under age 40 except my college 800 PR of 1:56

5K 16:46 - age 46
5 mile 27:20 - age 46
10K 34:39 - age 46
1/2 marathon 1:16:43 - age 46
25K 1:32:19 -age 49
Marathon 2:45:15 - age 47

What is your fondest running memory?
Qualifying for the State track meet as a junior is hard to beat but becoming part of the Twin Cities running community later in my running career has added much to my life. Runners are some of the most friendly and uplifting people there are.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Since I live a ways out, I train by myself all the time. I would like to train with any top masters runner. I met Alex Ratelle in medical school and it would have been a thrilled to (attempt) to train with him.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I had been smarter about training and how to avoid injuries when I started running.

JARED MONDRY

2008-09-21T09:35:00.004-05:00

After running a spectacular 2:57 at the age of 63, Jared Mondry spent nearly the next two years sidelined with knee problems. Word spread that he may never be able to run again. Well, apparently no one told Jared that. He’s back to running – having won his age group at Grandma’s with a 3:27:52. He’s also currently leading the 65-69 age group in the Runner of the Year standings. The 66-year-old Minneapolis resident now has his sights set on the Twin Cities Marathon. Having run with Jared, off and on, for about a year now, I think it’s safe to say that his response when asked about his strengths is truly an understatement. (Here's a photo I took of my buddy Scott and Jared, who happened to be running together at Lemon Drop Hill in 2005)

In 2005 you ran 2:57:22 at Grandma’s at the age of 63. That places you just behind legendary Alex Ratelle’s 2:55:32 as a state age record. While it’s not your fastest marathon ever, was it your best?
Well to be mentioned in the same breath as Alex Ratelle is something I would never do myself – he is in a class by himself. But I did have a good run that day and things fell in place. I thought I had a shot at going sub-3 because I was running quite well that spring, but I didn't know it was going to happen until there were about 2 miles left in the race. Then I felt pretty sure I could get it and I was elated, to be quite candid.

It certainly was one of my best races. Perhaps others that compared for me would be my 2:39 at age 50 and 2:46 at age 57. I've always felt that I put everything on the line in every race I have ever run. And if you do that, no matter what the clock says, there are no bad races.

What is your fondest running memory?
That's a tough one. I think training with my Saturday morning crew – guys like Bruce Mortenson, Doug Suker, Rob Whetham, John Naslund, David Tappe, Paul Mullen, Jack Ankrum, Terry Stewart, Tony Mondry, etc. – and others like Dan Ripka, really just having a good long run with these guys. When one or more of them starts upping the ante, if you could hang with them, you'd all come in feeling totally energized by the whole experience. It's an experience and a feeling that's hard to explain and just about impossible to duplicate in any other way.

In general, what is your training philosophy?
My training approach has always been pretty unscientific and unstructured and perhaps a bit unorthodox in many respects. First off, I feel I am of quite modest talent, but one who tried to compensate with lots of miles and as much quality as my body would allow –never mileage for mileage sake is what I'm trying to say. I seldom log my miles, at least on a consistent basis. I would just kind of know how many I had from week to week and when I had a little "pop in the legs" I would make it as "up tempo" as I could handle for that day. Of course, sometimes I’d pay the price the next day.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I think that I am quite determined and have a pretty good ability to handle discomfort, and that can compensate to some extent for lesser ability or talent.

My weaknesses are impatience with injuries and I just don't possess a lot of speed. I'm a little bigger than most runners so I'm not really designed for running. Growing up, I was better at hitting people, so that’s why I was attracted to football long before I ever began running. I suppose it could be accurately said, I’m a football guy who tried to convert to distance running. The rewards from running are much different from any other sports I have played. There’s certainly a much more spiritual aspect to running. That and the liberating component to it are its greatest appeal to me. There is much to be said for any individual sport versus a team sport.

What are your PRs?
Oh, I ran a 2:31 when I was 41. I think that would put me in about 7th place with most of the guys I have trained with over the years, but I think I could take most of them in a street fight.

I don't know much about other distances and times but most happened in my early 40's. I do remember running Get In Gear on a cold windy day and it was my best 10K (33:33). I think it got me 5th place in the 40-44 division, so it was hard to get too egotistical about it. I might have hit a 1:13 in the midpoint of a marathon. I liked 25Ks a lot but can't say what my best was. I don't really know other times at other distances either.

What are your goals for the rest of 2008?
My goal for the rest of 2008 is to run a decent Twin Cities Marathon. Hopefully I’ll run faster than Grandma's (3:27), but marathons are always such a crap-shoot. I was injuried for the better part of 2 years. It was only then that I fully realized how relevant/significant running was. So another goal is to prevent that from happening again.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I would like to turn the clock back a bit and run a marathon against all those guys in my Saturday morning group and my younger brother Jeff, when they were all having their worst day and I was having my best. Then they'd get an earful! But then I suppose I'd be obligated to buy the beer.

DOUG KELLER

2008-08-22T14:48:00.006-05:00

With all the great local runners, it can be difficult to keep track of who’s running great. After hearing Doug Keller’s name mentioned two or three times during a recent group run, it was pretty obvious that his peers know that the freshly minted 50 year old is having a great summer on the roads. And all those rumbling came before Doug rattled off a 4:41 mile, 16:17 5K and 52:09 15K – the latter time bested Michael Seaman’s state record for 50 year olds by 26 seconds. (Photo by Curt Lyons)

When and how did you get involved with running? Did you run in high school and college?
I started running track as a 7th grader and added cross country when I was in 10th grade. It took a while for me to figure it out, but even small schools don’t have much demand for 100 pound football linemen. After being a respectable high school runner but never qualifying for a state meet, I walked on at Mankato State and found out what running was all about. Coming from a small school, I thought I was ready to run cross country at Mankato after having my highest mileage summer ever of around 200 miles. After running between 20 to 25 miles a day for the first three days of practice, I gained a new appreciation of what it meant to be a runner in the late 1970s.

What thoughts come to mind when you think about this photo that accompanied this article?
Wow, what a bunch of youngsters! The men’s Olympic Trials qualifying standard was 2:19:04 in 1984 but it was in the middle of the running boom so there were quite a few qualifiers from Minnesota that year. I ran a few PRs that year but still had at least a handful of guys ahead of me in every race.

Can you describe your 1984 Olympic Trials experience?
I wish I could say it was great but things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. Qualifying for the trials was always a dream of mine. After qualifying, a couple of other guys and I started working with a coach who introduced a number of new quickness drills and we picked up our training intensity. Early in the year, my 10K times were dropping and I was feeling great but I developed a glute strain. Instead of backing off and letting it heal, I was a little too obsessed with doing well at the trials and tried to train through it. Not one of my better ideas. I ended up tearing the glute during the trials and dropping out of the race. Major pain in the butt! It’s the only race I’ve not ever finished. Other than that, it was a great experience.

Not many people in that photo are still running competitively. What is your secret for staying motivated all these years?
I actually didn’t stay motivated. After the trials, I struggled through three years of not being able to train over 50 miles a week because of the injury. After running my worst marathon ever at Twin Cities in 1987, I dropped out of the racing scene until the Ford guys talked me into running a few races in 2001 because they needed another Masters runner. I kept running very low mileage during that 14 year hiatus, but the time off gave my body time to rest and I was able to start fresh as a masters runner without having to experience the demotivation of knowing I was past my prime. The break made it easier for me to keep things in perspective and concentrate on improving my masters PR’s and shift my focus to more age appropriate goals as I slide into a new age group.

The USATF team series is also great for keeping things interesting. I look forward to the races and the rivalries that have developed over the years. Go TC Running!

This year, in particular, has turning 50 years old been a motivating force? If yes, how so? Did you put in more miles, more speedwork, etc.? What has allowed you to run times you were running 5 years ago?
Definitely! You only get to be the youngster in your age group once every five years. One thing I did do was spend a little time with a Physical Therapist. My knees were bothering me the last two years and I found my non-running muscles were about as strong as wet noodles. I worked with a Physical Therapist over the winter to strengthen my hips and core. I also started biking once or twice a week to bring a little balance back to my muscle structure. Other than that, I’m still a pretty unsophisticated runner. I run harder or longer once or twice a week, take one day a week off and try to go easy the rest of the time. My mileage is usually between 40 and 50 miles per week. Any speedwork I get in is usually from racing. A quick prayer at the starting line doesn’t hurt anything either!

A few people mentioned to me how well you’ve been racing this year. And that was before your 4:41 Rice Street Mile and 16:17 5K at Hennepin Lake Classic. I’m guessing you were pleased with those efforts? Is that 5K time a state age record?
I’ve been pleased as well as surprised at how well I’ve been racing since I turned 50. I think the 16:17 5K was a 50-54 state age group record but haven’t seen any official confirmation yet. This is probably the best I’ve ever raced on an age weighted basis with state single age records at four distances since I turned 50 in June.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?
Stay healthy! I’d like to run well at Victory 10K and the TC 10 and shave a little time off my Master’s PRs at those distances.

Have you retired from the marathon? When was your last one?
It’s tough to run a good marathon on my low training mileage. I’m a little too delicate to race that distance anymore. The last one I ran was Twin Cities in 1987.

What are your PRs?
I only know a few of my PRs from my younger days as I didn’t take advantage of many race distance options in the 1980s.

5K on the track 14:24
10K – 29:50
Marathon – 2:18:47

What is your training philosophy? Has it changed over time?
Back in the 1980s, training was all about mileage. Even then I was fairly clueless about training. Every run, whether it was 5 miles or 20 miles, was usually around 6 minute pace. Now, I’m still fairly clueless about what I really need to do to improve but I make sure I have a balance between my hard days and my easy days. I also realize that if something doesn’t feel right, I need to back off or even take a day off. My body definitely doesn’t recover from hard workouts, races or injuries like it used to.

What do you consider your strengths?
I’ve always been relatively versatile and able to be competitive at most reasonable distances.

Weaknesses?
My lack of cross training has made me more injury prone than I used to be so I’m working at becoming more balanced by strengthening those non-running muscles.

What is your fondest running memory?
Qualifying for the Olympic trials at the Houston Marathon in 1984 has to rank near the top. After a couple near misses at Grandma’s and Twin Cities in 1983, it was a great feeling to slip under the standard. Other than that, my brain craves the pleasure of that “in the zone” feeling that occurs on occasion as I run or race. I think Shalane Flanagan calls it her “Happy Place.” It’s too bad we can’t feel that way on every run!

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?
I’ve haven’t run many races out of the state so all my favorites are local. Back when I could hold together for a marathon, Grandma’s was always fast and fun but my favorite race would have to be the Victory 10K. What’s not to like about flat and fast with only one turn?

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I’ve raced and trained with many state runners of all abilities over the years including a few of the good ones and enjoyed hearing their stories and learning from them. I don’t think I would trade that for a run with one of the greats. What I’d really like to do is to be able to run with my daughters 30 years from now.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
When your body talks, listen!

KATIE KOSKI

2008-07-18T20:00:00.009-05:00

I first heard of Katie McGee in the mid-90s. It was during the William A. Irvin 5K, which is held in conjunction with Grandma’s Marathon weekend. During the race it seemed like everyone was cheering for this Katie gal that I was running near. Now Katie Koski, the 35-year-old Duluth resident remains a fixture in the 218 running scene – that’s the area code for those living along the North Shore and is often referred to by many of the runners from that area. At this year’s Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, Koski finished in 5th with a time of 1:18:29 and in the process took home awards for her age-group, first Minnesotan and first local finisher. My guess is if they had a Miss Congeniality award, she’d take that home too.

In addition to her own running, this spring Katie helped other runners prepare for Grandma’s Marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon when she taught a course via Lake Superior College. During that process she even created her own You Tube Channel where she talks about why she runs, describes things like strides, and demonstrates various core strengthening exercies. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba)

First off, congrats on your performance at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. What were your goals heading into the race and were you happy with your performance?
My main goal was to not be so pathetically slow and completely depressed post–Grandma’s, like I have been the past two years. More optimistically, I wanted to get the local record for the half, which was 1:19:00. My good friend and training partner, Kari Robertson, whom I have always looked up to as a runner held the record before me.

You’ve been running really well lately, winning the Firefighters 10-mile (59:40) and placing 3rd at the Brian Kraft 5K (17:31). Is your fitness the residual effect of the training you did while trying to earn an Olympic Trials qualifier?
I was really fit heading into the Shamrock Marathon on March 15th. I was sure I would get the trials qualifier. We didn’t have a good day—25-35 mph headwinds in the middle of the race. It was hard to watch the trials online race day. I thought I would be able to handle it, but as soon as I saw the runners on the course, I burst into tears. I was shocked by my response. Rather than keep moping and drinking so much stout, I decided to try and salvage a racing season to have something to show for all hard training in the dead of winter. I have also been working on my speed since December. I think too many marathons and running the Ed Fitz made me a slug the last few years. Suddenly, instead of being able to run in the low 17’s for 5k, my times were in the low 18’s. The loss of speed translated to poor performances all the way up to the marathon. I have been doing more speed training this year and it has helped me feel like a stud-muffin miler–chick instead of a plodding ultra runner.

Unfortunately, after qualifying for the marathon trials in 2000 and 2004, where you finished 65th and 54th, respectively, you failed to reach the 2:47 standard this time around, running 2:51. I get the impression, while you may have been bummed out; you’re not the type of person to let it keep you down too long. And I would not be surprised to see you at the 2012 trials.
I am going to try to make another trials, and I think I will do it. The last two trials I made the standard at Grandma’s and didn’t need to race another marathon. That strategy didn’t work this time around because we had two warm Grandma’s in a row. I waited an entire year to try and qualify again and then had to play the race-every-few-months game, chasing a qualifier. Of course I’ll do Grandma’s to try and qualify, but I will find a winter or fall race when the window is open if the qualifier doesn’t happen at Grandma’s.

What goals do you have for the rest of the year?
I want to run a PR in the marathon and break 5 minutes for the mile. I have run 2:42:33 at Grandma’s in 2002. I believe I can run faster than that. I know I am older, but my times are improving again. I had a great working relationship with Charlie Mahler when he was up North, and I set my PR in the marathon. But it got to be too difficult for both of us to work together long distance now that he lives in Northfield. I have a new coach, Vern Johnsen, and it has really helped to have someone whom I can meet for workouts and talk training with on a regular basis again. We both believe, at 35, my best running days are ahead of me.

When and how did you get involved with running? Did you run in high school and college and if so, where?
I ran for Duluth Marshall in high school. I started running in the 7th grade because a senior girl, Theresa Swanstrom, encouraged me to come out and would run with me on our distance runs. Like most people who are still at it, running became a part of my daily life; I could never imagine not doing it. After HS, I went to Connecticut College for a year and a half and was a Division III All-American. The East Coast was not a good fit for me, so I finished up my eligibility at Montana State University. Our team went to cross-country Nationals in ‘95, and I was the Big Sky Conference Champ in track in the 5k and 10k in ‘96 for MSU. I think Duluth’s running community has kept me going too. There are fewer of us than in the big city, but everyone is pretty committed. I can usually find a training partner to head out the door with me even on the worst winter days.

How would you describe your training philosophy?
I have always followed some adaptation of Lydiard Training. I love to do miles. I am never happier than when I am stringing together 100-mile weeks.

Do you have any key workouts that you like to use as a benchmark or your fitness?
I like to use local races or the Minnesota team circuit races to gauge my fitness. I guess that is because I am usually gearing up for Grandma’s as my main race every year. Also, I can never push myself in a workout like I can in a race, so races always give me more confidence than workouts.

What are your PRs?

Mile 5:00.00 (shit... no sub-5)
5k 17:01 (again... just over that minute barrier)
10k 35:20
10 mile 57:50
Half 1:18:29 (PR at Grandma’s half this year!)
Marathon 2:42:33
100k 8:00:28 (!#&!@!... just missed sub-8)

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
Endurance is definitely my strength as a runner, and I think I am pretty tough mentally. Also, I love to train—which may be my weakness too because I never feel like I am doing enough unless I leave a run or workout exhausted. Extremes seem to be my thing-I’m working on it though. It is part of the reason I need close contact with my coach. Another weakness is I have asthma. There are some days when I will just not be able to have a good performance because I can’t breathe—hot and humid weather is the worst. It is hard to accept, but I am dealing with it by not putting myself in situations where I know my asthma is going to be an issue.

What is your fondest running memory?
Grandma’s 2002. My PR. I ran a negative split by over 2:00. Downtown Duluth I was so revved. I felt like I couldn’t run fast enough to make myself tired. Races like that are the trip we all crave. I haven’t had that experience for 6 years, but I still head out every day training, jonesing for another race like that.

Have you ever “Shhhh’d” a spectator that was about to cheer for you so that a competitor wouldn’t know you were sneaking up on them at the end of a race?
I have a lot of dirty tricks up my sleeve so watch out. But what I love about all my competitors in Minnesota is after the race we’re all good buddies.

Given that 2-time Grandma’s Marathon Champion, Doug Kurtis, once referred to you as, “That Grandma’s Gal,” is it safe to say that Grandma’s Marathon is your favorite local and/or national race?
It is my favorite race and yes...I’ve been getting a lot of grief about that title. Probably you noticed all the "Blah, Blah, Blah Grandma’s" in the previous answers. But I really do think we have a great race in Duluth. Running Grandma’s is something I look forward to every year. Even after a great half marathon, I wished I had run the marathon. I headed out on my bike on the course to watch the marathoners this year. When I saw Jenna Boren go up Lemon Drop, I got all choked up. She looked hot and miserable but her resolve was steely. The marathon is poetry; it is the real race, the true test of what you got. Grandma’s is special because it is my hometown race and because it runs along Lake Superior. I have that course in my bones. It was really hard not to go out there and gut it out this year. The half felt like a rip off; I hardly suffered at all. But, I wasn’t ready for Grandma’s after all those marathons, trying for the qualifying standard.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I would run with Jan Ettle. I have so much respect for her and what she accomplished. She is the toughest woman I know, and the training she was able to do during her peak years was unbelievable.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I knew how many races I would run and how much I would love the sport. It would have saved me from puking in the woods my whole first cross-country season because I would get so nervous before races. Also, I wish I would have known how fast Kara (Wheeler) Goucher was going to get. I would have tried harder to beat her in at least one race in high school. It would be something to brag about even though she was only a little pencil neck 8th grader back then.

DAN CONWAY

2008-07-13T20:41:00.002-05:00

“Legendary” is not a term I like to just throw around. In the running community, we’ve got your Bowermans, Lebows, Waitz, etc. Closer to home we’ve got your Ratelles, Kleckers, Griaks, etc. And we’ve got Dan Conway. While he spent many years in Chetek, WI and now makes his home in Superior, WI, there’s no doubt that the Minnesota running scene is very familiar with his accomplishments. Being a “late bloomer” didn’t stop Dan from running fantastic times, including world age records.

I don’t remember exactly when I first heard of Dan Conway, but I’m guessing I was about 13 or 14 years old. Once in awhile Dan would stop at the road races in northern Wisconsin and he’d often bring a couple of his high school runners with him. Since my dad is Dan’s age, the best we could hope for on those days would be second in our age groups.

Your name litters the Minnesota Running Data Center with performances like your 2:23:07 at the age of 45, you’ve coached at the high school level for a number of years, and you’ve been inducted to the USATF Masters Hall of Fame. Is it possible to pick your fondest running memories over the last 30 years?
There are many fond running memories over the last 30 years. Probably the two most notable are winning the world masters 10k road race title in 30:26 in Perpignan, France in 1983 at age 44. And in 1992 setting a world indoor mile record for the 50-54 age group in 4:41.31 at the Sunkist games in Los Angeles. There were a dozen 50-54 year old runners in a special mile, including gold medallist Kip Keino of Kenya who had just turned 50.

The race in France was emotional because I dedicated it to my uncle Edward Franey who was killed in France while serving in the army in WWII. The last 300 meters were flat and I had decided the night before the race that I would sprint at that point. It seemed my uncle was with me.

Normally, I just ask people what their PRs are, but I think it’d be more interesting to get your PRs by age group, like 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69.

Age 40-49
Mile 4:27
10k 30:26
25k 1:22.24 (age 47)
Marathon 2:23:07

Age 50-59
Mile 4:41.31
5k 15:41 - Eugene, OR world track masters 1989
8k 26:16
10k 32:50
half marathon 1:19:xx (age 59)

Age 60-69
Mile 5:01 - world indoor age record 60-64
5k 18:19
8k 30:30
10k 36:02
Half Marathon 1:20:14

You didn’t start running until you were 37 or 38. Do you ever have any regrets or wonder what kind of times you could have run in your prime?
I remember someone asking the great pole vault champion, Bob Richards, how high did he think he would have vaulted with a fiberglass pole, rather than the non-bending pole of his era. He said he would probably sprint down the runway, plant the pole, pull and twist and jump the same height as he was jumping with the non-bending pole.

I was lucky to get into running at the height of the Masters running boom. I was sponsored by Nike for 15 years, including equipment and some trips. I have no regrets, it was a great run!

Do you have any goals you weren’t able to reach?
None to speak of.

What do you think set you apart from other runners at that time? What were your strengths and weaknesses?
I don't know what other runners were doing. I do know that I had great training partners. John Vodacek had run a 2:17 marathon, Duane Fjelstad ran a 2:36 marathon at age 45, John Kann, Dale Corbin, Bill Knickerbocker, Billy Danielson all loved to run. All were in the Chetek,WI area. We had dirt roads that were hilly for our long weekend run, we had a ski hill, a nice all weather track for speed work, good clean air and college kids to keep us humble in the summer, including Chad Johnson, the Donnerbauer brothers and many more.

On a personal level, I had been a laborer on a railroad section gang starting at age 17 and on through summers while in college. I also played college football at UW-Superior, a Division 3 school. I led the team in scoring as a 158 lb. running back one year – we didn't score much. I ran track in college as a sprinter and won a few relays, but never an individual race. My high school didn't have track or cross-country team. I believe these experiences were strengths later on.

I choose not to mention any weaknesses.

You seem to have great range from the 5K to the marathon. What do you think your best race distance has been over the years?
That's a tough question to answer. I'm not sure really. I liked them all if I was fit. Maybe the 10k, on a good day.

70 is right around the corner. Do you have your sites on any age group records?
After taking a year off last year from coaching the high school cross-country teams in Superior, I am going to be coaching again this year. Perhaps after the season I'll take a look, but for right now my thoughts are on the high school season.

In a previous interview I told Bruce Mortenson that I find myself thinking about age catching up and the inevitable slow-down. What do you attribute your longevity to and what advice do you have to help combat the aging process?
What did Bruce say? He certainly has had a great running career that spanned many decades, from NCAA Champion at Oregon to elite masters runner.

As for me, I feel like a million bucks - all green and wrinkled. I guess the good Lord has been good to me. I'm not one to give much advice. Just keep moving and be happy.

[Note: Bruce’s response was; I've been able to run so long because I love to run and had great teachers and running friends who continue to inspire me. The hard/easy approach to training is a big factor. I also try to run trails as much as possible. We have some great areas to run here and that helps mentally and physically. I get amused when young runners talk about "burnout" because I can say that I don't feel I have ever really had burnout in all my years of running (maybe just some injury "delays").]

Do you ever find yourself looking at race times for guys in their 80s like Lloyd Young, Burt Carlson, John Keston, etc.?
Yes I do. I really admire these guys. They are amazing. And the older I get the more amazing they become. I've known Lloyd for several years. He is a wonderful man.

With the Olympic Trials having just taken place, were there any particular events that you looked forward to watching?
I watched every day. The 800 was really exciting - the winner pulled an old Peter Snell trick and stuck out his arm to get himself out of a box. Kara Goucher, being from Duluth, was of particular interest, and she came through winning the 5,000 and placing second in the 10,000. I was surprised that Alan Webb didn't take it out fast when he realized it was a tactical race in the beginning. What was he waiting for? Bernard Lagat sure was impressive. I enjoyed all the distance races

You make your home in Wisconsin, but if you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I may live in Wisconsin but I sure got to know a lot of Minnesota masters runners over the years. And let me say they are a class act. A better group of guys you'll never find. I mean that sincerely. I learned from the best. Fierce competitors during a race and friendly after - as sport should be. I'd be proud to run with anyone of them!

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
That I wear a size 9 ½ running shoe, not an 8 ½.

JEREMY ESSLER

2008-06-12T20:24:00.003-05:00

Jeremy Essler made is marathon debut less than a month ago at the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. There the 28-year-old Mankato resident ran fairly even splits (1:14:56 and 1:17:45) to finish 7th overall in 2:32:41 and in the process nabbed $300. Last year Jeremy married Desireé Budd and they joined the ranks vying for fastest running couple in Minnesota. After recovering from the marathon, Jeremy has his sites on improving upon his 54:42 from last year's TC-10 miler.

Congrats on your 2:32 at Green Bay. As your first marathon, what were your goals heading into the race?
Thank you. My first goal - to finish! Secondly, I just wanted to feel good, if there is such a thing, at mile 20. I did not want to be reduced to jogging and thinking the last 6.2 miles why I decided to do this and never want to run another marathon again. The ultimate goal though was to run under 2:30, regardless of place. I would be lying though if said I was not thinking about finishing in the top 10 and the riches it would bring. Hey, I won enough to pay for our gas there and back!

Were you pleased with how the race played out?
I was fairly pleased with the way it played out. Green Bay is not a big marathon, which was one of the reasons I decided to run it, so unfortunately I ran most of the way by myself. This was fine for the most part because I wanted to run my race. I wanted to be at 1:15 at the half and go from there. At Green Bay you run the first 12 with the half marathoners so I had to exercise great self-control to not go out hard with them. After 12, I was completely on my own, minus two guys I passed, until 22. From 22 on, I ran with a guy from Ethiopia whom I left in the dust of Lambeau Field with my blazing 800 meter speed.

Overall my legs felt pretty good. I have a hip problem that causes the sciatic nerve to flare up. That was only a minor problem. I did have stomach issues pretty much the whole second half of the race though. I think I had too much sugar in the morning with a Powerbar and a bottle of Powerade. That combined with nerves did not make it pretty. I never really hit the wall, but we had a 15-20 mph head wind from roughly 16-22 where I got off pace. I do say though that my quads were quite sore by 22, especially after the downhill over the bridge.

Can you briefly describe your training leading up to the race; did you follow a certain program, how many MPW, key workouts, etc.?
My training started in the middle of February. It was a horrible winter and spring weather wise so it was not a lot of fun for the most part. I was doing three hour runs in February at 7:30/mile pace when temps were in the teens and the wind was blowing across the southern Minnesota plains at 40 mph. I hate treadmills but I did do a couple runs on one when we would get a couple inches of ice. Otherwise I would just not run.

As far as programs go, I did not follow any certain one. I researched a little on what elite runners were doing (Team Minnesota, Nike project, and Hanson’s) and Joey Keillor helped me out quite a bit. Training consisted of a lot of threshold workouts and tempo runs. After a few weeks of those easy long runs in February my long runs consisted of easy 1 to 1 ½ hours of running with another 45-70 min at marathon pace. I ran the Earth Day Half Marathon as a workout, 6-7 mile warmup, and 13.1 at marathon pace (5:40/mile or so). That felt pretty easy so I knew I was ready. After that I kept my weekly mileage at 80 or so with more quality workouts like mile repeats and 2k’s. Before Earth Day I had worked my way up to around 100 MPW. My longest run was around 24 miles in 2 ½ hours.

They say not to try any new foods prior to the race. Did you follow this advice? What was your pre-race meal for Sunday's race?
On Friday night I had spaghetti, so the normal. But I usually get a little heartburn from spaghetti sauce so on Saturday night myself, my wife Desireé, Kristen Painter, Ed Whetham, and Jenna Boren met Jenna’s dad at his wife’s Sushi Bar for supper. While I have had sushi a couple times it was not your normal meal. For my meal I had grilled teriyaki salmon and buckwheat noodles. The morning of, I had a bagel, yogurt, Powerbar and Powerade. Maybe a little too much but I was hungry only a couple hours later.

Now that you have one marathon under your belt, what’s next for 2008? What about long-term goals?
I just want to get my legs under me again. Hopefully get my hip figured out and my quads back to normal- they have been bothering me since before the TC 10 mile and still sore with plenty of knots. I will hopefully run the fall circuit races since I missed most in the spring. And the cross circuit too since I missed that last fall with my hurt quads. Hopefully the TC 10 miler again. Long term I am looking forward to maybe a track season next spring. I am not much of a PR guy but I still need to break 4:00 in the 1500 and 15:00 in the 5k, maybe a fall marathon in ‘09 if I ever recover from this one.

You live in North Mankato. What’s the running scene like? Do you have many people to train with?
I actually live in Mankato now. The running scene is pretty good, although a majority of my runs were by myself. I run quite a bit with my wife. I try to run with the MSU guys when I can but that is not too often. I used to run quite a bit with my old roomie, Jon Ortloff, and more recently have gotten a few runs in with Toby Henkels.

Looking through the State Meet x-c results, it looks like you ran for a very strong Alexandria team. How did you get involved with the sport?
We had some pretty good teams back in the day. Mark Nelsen was an excellent cross country and distance coach. I got into running mostly through family. My aunt Laurie ran in the Trials a couple times, my dad and uncles ran track. My neighbor who was a year older ran cross country so he got me going before 7th grade. And of course I was too small to do anything else!

What is your fondest running memory?
Running with my wife the morning of our wedding.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strength would be my speed being a half miler and miler when running the longer distances. Weaknesses? Too many, but the usual-stupidity in training-doing way too much. At least I got it right for the most part for the marathon.

What are your PRs?
Like I said, I am not much of a PR guy. I have set round goals like 15:00 for the 5k, and if I don’t break it I don’t really dwell on my time. But here are some rough estimates:

400: 50.1
800: 1:57.12(unfortunately only in high school)
1500: 4:00
5k: 15:15
Half Marathon: 1:11:23 enroute to 25k
25k: 1:24:37
Marathon: 2:32:41

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I love running with all the old Runner's Edge guys and hearing all their war stories. Most of them are about 5 years older than me so I missed running with them in college. They have some good stories that is for sure. It is a treat running with anyone, anytime outside of my few training partners in Mankato.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
My own knowledge of basic training techniques because I always just took the coaches word for training, especially in college. I just over-trained too much. I needed to listen to my body more often. In high school I did not take cross country as serious as track because all I wanted to do was the 800. I did not realize that I should have been running a few more miles. I had an excellent coach but I was stubborn and did not want to run more miles. But even now I tend to overdo it so what do I really know? Not much. So there’s not much I wished I’d known.

LUKE WATSON

2008-06-05T21:33:00.003-05:00

The subtitle of this blog mentions interviewing top local runners. At the time I wrote that I was implying age-groupers, but that doesn’t mean I’ll pass up the opportunity to interview professionals with Minnesota ties. Luke Watson, 27, grew up in Stillwater. During his last three years in high school, the Ponies won three cross country team titles, with Luke finishing 14th and 2nd before closing out his high school career with an individual title. He went on to attend the University of Notre Dame and he continued to shine in both cross country and track. He is now an assistant coach at Notre Dame and he is currently training for the steeplechase at the Olympic Trials, which begin at the end of June. (Photo courtesy of Alison Wade.)

For some reason I think of you as a miler and steeple chaser, yet competed in the 2004 Olympic trials at 5000 meters, finishing 14th. Are you focusing on the 5000 meters again for the 2008 trials?
I have always had a hard time figuring out my best event. The mile is a great glamour event but I’ve never been too enamored with the 1500m. The 5000m is a brutal painfest when I try to run a fast time but I like tactical 5000’s. The steeplechase is most like cross country, where I’ve always been most successful, so I’ve returned to the steeple and will race it at Trials this summer. [Note: Letsrun.com recently posted their steeplechase rankings HERE.]

I haven’t seen your name in any results lately. How is your training/racing going now that the trials are less than a month away?
I had mononucleosis this winter, so I didn’t run a step from early December until the end of January. Coming back, I had to take it slow and didn’t race until the very end of March. I ran well at the Mt. SAC relays in mid-April, running my 2nd-best time ever in the steeple to place 3rd at 8:37.21. Then I placed 4th at the TC 1 Mile in Minneapolis, which was a good performance off zero speed work. Since then I’ve been training hard and the legs are pretty tired but hopefully I come around by Trials. My final tune-up will be at the Hanson’s Midwest Distance Solution on Saturday June 7.

You’ll be 28 years old this summer. Do you see yourself running professionally 4 or even 8 more years? And what are some of your long-term goals?
Are you trying to make me feel old? Because it’s working! Thanks to the generous support of adidas, I’ve been able to give running a serious go for the last 5 years and counting. For now, the steeple is one domain where I really feel I have a lot of improvement coming. I have run so many races (9, but who’s counting) between 8:36 and 8:39 and yet my PR is still just 8:36.12!!! I am hopeful that the consistency I have developed in that range, along with having decent PRs in surrounding events, will one day soon lead to a huge drop in time. So you could say that is my biggest near-term and long-term goal. I have thought about racing a competitive marathon or two at some point, but every time I actually go watch a marathon I think, “Why would anyone want to do that?”… so we’ll see. Other than that, I try not to think too far ahead, I just focus on what I need to do today to improve; I train hard, race hard, and try to enjoy it!

I’m starting work on my Ph.D. in Accounting at Penn State this fall so I know I’ll be busy, but a lot of the work is flexible, i.e. reading research papers and performing my own research, so I’ll continue training and racing. Coaching the last couple years has been a similar lifestyle: I’m busy, and there is work to do, but much of it can be done on my own schedule so I can fit my training in.

Maybe one of the reasons I think of you as a miler is because of your two TC-1 mile victories. This year you beat your course record by 5 seconds, yet only managed 4th place. It seems like that race is becoming one of the best road miles in the U.S.
Yes, you have to give the TC Marathon crew a lot of credit for building that race from the ground up. The field this year was stacked! I felt good about my race there, because I haven’t trained for the mile very much this year—it’s all been steeple-centric. It is a tough uphill course, but the adrenaline I had in the final 3 blocks with the crowd screaming was incredible! Road miles are so exciting and the most popular comment I heard after the race from spectators was that they couldn’t believe how fast we were going. To put the race downtown and have the fans right there creates a new perspective for them.

The list of sub-4 minute milers is rather short. I can’t imagine that there are many brothers on the list. If there are any, they’re probably twins. So it has to be really special to be on that list along with your brother Jake.
Definitely. That is one achievement, if you could call it that, that will be really special and lasting to me. The only other American brothers who have done this are the Jeffersons, Sean and John, from Florida, who ran for the University of Indiana, but they are twins. Outside of the United States there are some more non-twin brothers, but it remains incredibly rare. I was fortunate to be there when Jake ran sub-4 and it was just one of the coolest things to see it unfold.

In addition, I doubt there’s another high school that has three runners on that list, when you include Sean Graham. I guess it’s no surprise that your high school coach, Scott Christensen, was named to coach this year’s U.S. world cross country team.
I believe South Eugene HS (OR) has more sub-4 alumni, but yeah it’s a rare club. It all stems from Scott Christensen. He’s a fantastic coach with an uncanny ability to develop athletes so that they run well in high school and continue to make huge improvements into college and beyond. Scott is one of the best coaches there is at any level. I was really proud that he was named team leader of the World Cross team this year. It was validation of all that he has done over nearly 30 years training young men.

Normally, I like to ask about training philosophy, but you’ve written a great 3 piece series for The Lead Pack that covers yours thoughts on middle distance training. In addition, you wrote a fun introduction that’s worth reading. How did you get involved with this website and can we expect to see more articles in the future?
I kept running into Derick Lawrence, the founder of The Lead Pack at meets because he coaches at Indiana State, and we got in touch that way. I enjoy writing so it’s fun for me to churn out these articles when I have free time. My middle distance training series is a good overview of the speed work that I use with the Notre Dame mid-distance men, but it doesn’t really cover the aerobic stuff we do, which is obviously a huge part of the training. Maybe that’s an idea for a future article. I’m open to suggestions.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My greatest strength is that when I’m feeling good in a race, no one can outkick me. My biggest weakness is that there are times when I’m not feeling good (usually because I have overtrained myself), or when I’m in over my head in a race, or I go out too fast. Sometimes all those things happen at once.

What are your PRs?

800m: 1:52.94 (I never run this event)
1500m: 3:42.42 or something
Mile: 3:57.83
3000m: 7:49.56
3000mSC: 8:36.12
5000m: 13:38.73
10k road: 28:59 (I have never run one on the track)

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
It would be a group run.
Andrew Carlson - always has a funny, self-deprecating story to tell
Matt Gabrielson - he and I have shared many miles, many woes, and many highs
Jason Lehmkuhle - I think Lehm and I could talk all day about where to go for brunch after a run. And then he would start running tempo and it would get real quiet.
Jake Watson - sub-4 bro
Scott Christensen - keeps it honest and has endless running knowledge
Steve Hoag, Ron Daws, Dick Beardsley - old schoolers
Steve Holman - I met him on a flight to Philly once, would have liked to chat more
Adam Lindahl - he gave me a shout out once so hey Adam, let’s run…
Jordan Carlson- the future

Finally, as a former teammate and roommate of Ryan Shay, I’m sure his death was shocking for you. Could you share your fondest memories of him?
Some of the best times with Ryan were after college, when we trained up in Mammoth Lakes, California. I was studying for the CPA exam at the time, and Ryan would always get me away from the desk for an off-road study break. We’d take off in his pickup and go tearing up these mountain roads. At one point, we got out to the end of a one-way trail, near the summit of a 12,000’ mountain. In a classic moment of brash youthful exuberance, we simultaneously looked to the peak and said, “let’s climb it.” The peak looked so close, and there were big boulders that we could scramble up so we thought we could make the summit in about 30 minutes. Two hours later, we found ourselves clinging to near-vertical faces of rock, climbing straight up. Of course, once we hade made up our minds there was no turning back. Eventually, we arrived at the summit. I have some amazing pics of that climb—the views were worth it. I also have a great shot of Ryan clinging to the sheer rock wall. It was a classic day: a spontaneous adventure, a challenge we overcame, a difficult but fun experience.

STEVE HIBBS

2008-05-28T20:04:00.005-05:00

In case you missed it, Minnesota can now lay claim to the youngest person to run a marathon in all 50 states and on all 7 continents. Steve Hibbs, 36 of Brooklyn Park, completed this task on May 10th at the Brookings Marathon. I was lucky enough to first meet Steve in 1992 while we attended UW-Eau Claire. In talking with many groups of runners over the years, it always seems like there’s one person in the group that can remember every detail from every race they ever ran; mile splits, overall place, weather, etc. For the Blugolds, that person was Steve. We quickly learned not to second-guess his ability to remember details from each and every race. (Photo courtesy of Steve Hibbs)

First off, congratulations on becoming the youngest person to run a marathon in all 50 states and on all 7 continents. When did you set out to achieve this goal and how many marathons did you average per year during the process?

Thanks Chad! I first decided I wanted to run a marathon in all 50 states and on all 7 continents back in 1996. I was attending grad school at the U of MN and had run my first two marathons the prior year. I qualified for the 100th Boston (at the ’95 Grandma’s), which would become my second state. But, I wanted to go somewhere for Spring Break. I had never been to Europe and found out that the Rome Marathon was being held the same week as spring break. I called a NY-based travel agency and booked it that day. That was March of 1996, when I completed my 2nd continent and April 1996 when I completed my 2nd state. From that point it became a goal. Since then I’ve averaged roughly 6 per year, but I ran the bulk in 2005 and 2006 (42 total marathons)

What was your fastest and slowest marathon during that time?

My fastest was 2:31:46 at Twin Cities 2000. My slowest was Antarctica this March in 3:56:23.

What was your favorite marathon in the U.S. and abroad?

In the U.S. there are so many unique characteristics about a lot of the races so it’s difficult to say. Boston, because of its history and crowd; NYC because it’s NYC; Twin Cities because I set my PR. But then there’s Shiprock, N.M. that is in a desolate and remote part of the country or Moab, Utah. Both have spectacular scenery. Or Eugene, even though it was the inaugural race, it’s in Running Town, U.S.A. Or Knoxville, Sunburst in South Bend, Indiana or Healthy Huntington, which all finish in Football Stadiums. Then there are races like the Eisenhower Memorial in Abilene Kansas, Washington’s Birthday in Greenbelt, Maryland and Brookings Marathon in South Dakota which really cater to the runner and are extremely well organized for a much smaller event. But since you’re going to commit me to pick one, I would pick Marine Corp. It’s got all of the great features of a marathon. It’s well organized, it’s a great course, it’s got history, it recognizes a larger purpose and it has a great crowd.

Abroad, it undoubtedly is Antarctica. The second time running up the ¾ mile glacier I was parched, so I knelt down, put my face in a small glacial stream and drank the best water I’ve ever had (which was over 2000 years old). How cool is that!

Grandma’s or TCM? Why?

TCM. I like the course a lot better (there’s more to see) and there are more spectators, plus it’s my home course and where I set my P.R.

For awhile you were working at Northwest Airlines. That had to help with keeping the costs down. Still, I imagine this wasn’t a cheap project. Any idea how much money you spent on travel, hotels, entry fees, etc.? Or is it better not to think about the costs?

Working at NWA saved a ton of money. While there I ran a total of 38 marathons, including Chile, Tanzania, Honolulu and Anchorage. Those are some of the most expensive international and domestic marathons to run. But in all honesty I haven’t even attempted to figure out how much it has cost.

Now you’re talking about doing each state and continent two more times and have even placed an ad on ebay where you’re offering to sell advertising space on your race t-shirt and hat. How did you come up with that idea and have there been any bites yet?

I had a number of people tell me along the way that I should solicit sponsors. Finally, I decided why not give it a shot. No real bites as of yet, though. Honestly, I didn’t expect any. “Ad” space on a t-shirt for a guy who’s running around 3 hours isn’t in high demand. But I thought for $5 on Ebay, it couldn’t hurt to try.

If you don’t get any sponsorship, will you still try to go through with it?

Yeah, it will just take longer. Although, I’m starting my own Marathon Tour company and will go to 6-8 international marathons a year. As I accumulate Frequent Flyer miles, I’ll redeem them to run the U.S. marathons.

What are your PRs?

Mile: 4:27 (2001)
Two Mile: 9:32 (1992)
5k: 15:38 (2000)
5 Miles: 25:53 (2000)
10k: 33:16 (2001)
15k: 48:32 (2002)
½ Marathon : 1:13+ (2001)
Marathon: 2:31:46 (2000)

I think most people would agree that runners reach their peak somewhere between 25 and 35 years of age. You spent those years focusing on running lots of marathons. Any regrets about focusing on quantity rather than quality during your peak years?

Not at all. I ran most of the PR’s above between 2000 and 2002. So I ran most of them during that peak range. With how much I was working after that point, there just wasn’t the time to focus on quality. So I was o.k. sacrificing quality to get the quantity. And I still managed to throw out a 2:48, in Sydney, during that time. Slowly I’m getting back into the kind of shape I was in during 2000, but it’s taking a while.

All right, let’s back up. How did you get involved with running?

Long Story. Here’s the quick version. I was really competitive with my sister, who was three school years ahead of me. She lettered during High School and I wanted to letter more times than her. I wanted a fall sport, in which to letter, so I chose the one I thought I had the best chance in – Cross Country.

What kind of influence did your legendary high school coach, Rick Kleyman, have on you and your running?

Huge. He’s the one who really taught me to believe in myself and that I could accomplish whatever I wanted.

In general, what is your training philosophy?

It depends what type of event I’m training for. Before this year, when I was training for a marathon, I had three distinct phases – Strength, Speed, Endurance. During a twelve week program I would do hills the first four weeks, shorter intervals (1k to 1 mile) the second four weeks and longer endurance intervals the last four weeks (2 miles to 5k). I would also build my mileage from 50/week to 80/week. But I have a propensity to develop stress fractures. Now I keep my mileage the same (around 50 miles/week) and increase the intensity (started at 7:00 pace and am now consistently training at 6:30 pace). I’m also doing the vast majority of my training on a treadmill, which is helping me stay injury free.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?

I don’t know if I really have any strengths. One might be that I can pretty much train for a few weeks and go out and run close to a 3:00 hour marathon. I have plenty of weaknesses, though. Like I said, I get injured a lot. I don’t eat very healthy foods. I don’t cross train enough. The list goes on and on.

What is your fondest running memory?

I have three of them. My last chance High School two-mile race, where I subbed 10 minutes in the two-mile for the first time. Winning the Buckshot 5 mile race in 2000, in my PR. And running my PR at TCM in 2000.

Do you have a favorite local race that’s not a marathon?

I did. It was Easy-Does-It. I ran the race every year from 1990 to 2006. It was tough to see it end. Other then that, I like the Hennepin Lake Classic 5k and Firecracker 10k.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?

All of Minnesota’s prior Olympians. There are too many to name, but to get them into one big group for a run (a long run) and listen to their Olympic stories would be cool. Otherwise, it would be cool to run with Ted Braggans, who is the first Minnesotan to complete 50 states & 7 Continents.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?

That upper body strength is just as important as lower body strength. I ran all of my PR’s after including weight training into my regimen. I find that I am much more efficient and get less tired when I’ve done upper body lifting.

ASHLEY ANKLAM

2008-05-20T20:28:00.003-05:00

Ashley Anklam, 22 of Bloomington, made her marathon debut at last year’s Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Even the sultry conditions weren’t enough to keep her from breaking 3 hours as she ran 2:58:34. In January, she topped that performance with a 2:49:30 at P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in Arizona. She simply followed that up by being the first American woman at this year’s Boston Marathon, running 2:48:43. The Drake University graduate was able to accomplish all this while attending medical school at the University of Minnesota.

First off, congrats on being the first American woman at the Boston Marathon. Obviously, the women’s marathon trials were the day before the Boston Marathon this year. Yet you still ran a very respectable 2:48:32. What was your goal heading into Boston?
My training leading into Boston had been a little bit sketchy because of a more rigorous class schedule, so I was hesitant to set any serious goals. I had hoped to finish within the top 50-100 females. Also, I knew that Boston was a challenging course so I was aiming just to break 3 hours. [Note: Ashley was the 15th woman overall at Boston.]

I assume you were able to watch the trials too. Any thoughts on that race?
I tend to get very nervous when I watch other runners compete, so in hopes to keep my anxiety level down I did not watch the trials. Instead, I quickly looked up the results on the internet after the race was complete. I was impressed by a few very gutsy performances. I was equally intrigued by the veterans’ ability to maintain their race strategies despite changing scenarios.

Minnesota has always had a strong presence in the women’s trials. Is that a tradition that you look forward to maintaining in the future?
Minnesota has produced some excellent runners and I am convinced it is because this state’s winters make its runners unbelievably resilient. I hope that with more intense training and more years experience I too can make it to the trials and uphold Minnesota’s competitive tradition.

One thing about your results that jumps out right away is your age. It seems like more and more we hear about runners wanting to get the most out of their speed and focus on the track, before moving up to the marathon. Obviously, you’re taking a different approach. What made you want to try the marathon so early?
It has always been apparent to me that speed is not one of my assets. Instead, endurance and determination have kept me competitive over the years. I never really liked racing short distances, probably because they do not play to my strengths. I figure as long as it’s my choice, I might as well run distances at which I best compete and most enjoy.

Plus, there is no race like the marathon. It challenges you physically and mentally, Furthermore, you can make racing errors and still recover. Also, it is unbelievable the support each runner receives from all the fans along the course.

Will we be seeing you at other shorter, local road races during the year?
I am still working out my calendar for this summer, but I am hoping to get into at least one local half marathon. I do know I will be racing in San Francisco in August and then at Twin Cities this October.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?
There are several elements of my training that need a lot of work. I hope that by improving my workouts and other aspects of training (like core strength, stretching, etc) I can achieve new PRs and have higher placing finishes.

Let’s back up a little bit. It sounds like you made it to State in cross country, but never placed in the top-30. Then you went to Drake where you had even more success. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background and high school and college accolades?
While I ran cross country and track for Holy Angels in high school, I earned a few conference titles and went to state 3 times. Like you mentioned I never broke into the top thirty for cross country and did not even make it to state in track.

When I got to Drake I became more focused on running. I was a NCAA Division I Cross Country National Qualifier and finished 54th. I was also named to Midwest All- Regional team three times, MVC Cross Country All-Centennial Team, MVC Cross Country Conference Champion, MVC Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete of the Year, MVC Cross Country All Conference 3 times and MVC Track All Conference 3 times. I was an Academic All- American and a Junior All-American, but never just an All-American, haha.

What do you attribute your continued development to over the years?
My college coach, Dan Hostager. I definitely saw a large improvement between my high school and college careers and I attribute most of the change to my coach. He was unbelievably dedicated and knowledgeable, but more than anything he really cared about his athletes as a person. It was easier to give it my all every practice and race when I knew I had a coach that believed in me whole-heartedly.

I also cannot leave my parents out of the equation. I think I can count on one hand how many races they missed during my high school, college and post-collegiate competition. Their presence and encouragement is incredibly motivating, but they also have never pressured me to continue running. They have always let me set the tone of my athletic career and have adapted to support what ever I pursue.

Do you tend to follow any certain training program? What is your training philosophy?
My college coach will occasionally send me suggested mileage, but I do not have any specific training program. I normally decide what that week’s long run and total mileage will be and go from there. I generally run at a slightly uncomfortable pace just so I feel like I am maximizing the time I have. I am sure this is not an ideal training philosophy but I do the best I can with my current situation.

What are your PRs?

Marathon: 2:48:43
10K 36:27
5K 16:48
3K 9:45
1500 4:38
XC 5K 16:40
XC 6K 20:42

It seems like year after year many college runners stop running after graduating. So I’m always interested to hear what advice recent graduates who’ve had success on the roads would give to other college runners as their collegiate careers come to an end?
I would tell these runners that it is very understandable to be a bit burnt out on running as they wrap up their collegiate careers. I would suggest that they continue running, but just recreationally at first and suggest that they enter a few races just for “fun”. If they are anything like me, they will soon miss the competition and these “fun” races will spark the competitor inside.

Right now you’re in medical school. How is that going and what does it means in terms of running? By that I mean is there any chance of joining one of the post-collegiate training groups or seeking some sort of sponsorship? Or is school your top priority right now?
I would jump at an opportunity to run with a team. I would love to have other people to train alongside as well as have a bit more structure to my workouts.

It has never been easy juggling medical school and marathons. It is not like college when I could set aside a 3 hour block each day to run, lift, ice, etc. I have learned to adapt my running to what my class schedule permits. There are days when I think it would be so much easier to just focus on running, but then I remember that it has always been my dream to become a physician. In all honesty, managing my training and school schedule helps me achieve a balance and prevents me from becoming consumed with either aspect of my life.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
One of my greatest weaknesses is my inability to switch gears during a race. I often cannot respond to other individuals’ surges because I lack another gear. Also, I tend to start races too fast and become complacent in the middle of the race.

My greatest strength might be my determination. My determination and work ethic allow me to pursue goals and dreams that may seem unattainable at first. I believe that with enough work, no goal seems too far-fetched nor does any obstacle become too great.

What is your fondest running memory?
My favorite collegiate memory was running at Nationals. My coach and parents were there and some of my teammates surprised me right before the race. I can remember my coach cheering wildly when I had only 800 meters left. I suppose it is even dearer because it was a PR.

My favorite marathon memories are finishing my first marathon (which was Twin Cities last fall) and hearing USA chanted during the Boston Marathon.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
There are quite a few I would love to run with, but Carrie Tolfeson is at the top of the list. I have always looked up to her and her running ability. I was fortunate to speak with her when I ran at the Phoenix RnR marathon and found that she not only is a great competitor but wonderful person as well.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I would have known that I compete much better when I just go out and have fun. Instead, I have it set in my mind that I need to be sick to my stomach with nerves in order to be truly focused enough for a race. My history would show, however, that I compete better when I just relax and give it the best I’ve got that day. Luckily, the length of the marathon relieves some of my pre-race anxiety, because I feel like there is plenty of time to adjust to challenges I meet along the course.

RASA TROUP

2008-04-29T05:49:00.003-05:00

This edition of stride-for-stride takes on an international flavor, as Rasa (Michniovaite) Troup, made her way to the Univerity of Minnesota via Lithuania. The 31-year-old Minnepolis resident took most of 2007 off to start a family. A year later she is trying to earn a spot on the Lithuanian Olympic team in the 3000m steeplechase. Last weekend Troup finished 2nd at the Drake relays in 9:51.28, behind fellow U of M alum Emily Brown, who ran 9:45.38. Earlier this year, Rasa kicked off the spring racing season with a victory at the Human Race 8K in 28:08. (photo courtesy of Wayne Krydubra)

Can you tell us a little bit about your background (where are you from originally, when and how did you get involved with running, what are some of your accolades while at U of M)?
I am originally from Lithuania. I came to the U of M in 1998 after Gary Wilson recruited me. I was surrounded by sports since I was a little kid, since both of my parents are former track and field athletes and my mother was my coach in high school. I actually was not focusing on running, especially not distance running, while I was in Lithuania. I was doing short and long hurdles, triple jump, long jump, heptathlon, and just before I came to the U of M I was competing in 800m-1500m. Once I came to the U of M, I had no idea that I would be running cross country. So, I can say that my distance running started here at the U of M.

At the U of M, probably the most memorable of my accolades were winning the Roy Griak Invitational and becoming an all-American in 1998.

What are your PRs?
800m – 2:08.75
1500m – 4:17.13
Mile road – 4:39.5
3000m SC – 9:47.47
3000m indoors – 9:21.81
5000m road – 16:21
10000m road – 34:37
Marathon – 3:11.17

Other PRs:
60m hurdles – 8.8
Long Jump – 5.79m
Triple Jump – 12.30m
400m – 57.6
Pentathlon – 3484
Heptathlon – 4217

After you graduated in 2000, how would you describe your transition from college runner to road racer; was it smooth or did it take you some time to get used to having to motivate yourself, work around a career, etc.?
My last year at the U of M was far from OK. Like Wilson would say I was “a mess”. Thus, after I graduated, I was thinking that I will stop running. However, I knew deep down that I did not use my full potential in running. I did not have a hard time to motivate myself, but I had a very hard time to find time for training. I volunteered in one end of the town, and worked in 2 other locations of the town. Without a car, I was able to get around the town with my rusted out bike, which maybe helped me to be in shape. In addition, I was preparing to enter graduate school at U of M. I just remember that it was very stressful time of my life.

What advice would you give to other college runners as their careers come to an end?
I am not sure if I have good advice in regards to this. I think it is very hard to continue running competitively after college, since there is much less support for post collegiate running. However, I think if an athlete is very talented and still enjoys running and competing, she or he may try to join Team USA Minnesota or any running store teams in the Twin Cities.

In 2006 you tied for second place in the Runner of the Year rankings and then you missed nearly all of last year. I believe you were busy starting a family. Is that true and if so, how’s it going?
Honestly, I did not even know about the Runner of the Year. 2006 was not the greatest year for me in terms of running. I tried some different stuff in my workouts and it backfired. Thus, after a disappointing year, I decided I probably should hang up my shoes. I became pregnant right at the end of the 2006 road racing season and never regretted my decision. I love being a mom and even all responsibilities that comes with being a mom. Motherhood for me brought a lot of joy and also new challenges.

You did close out 2007 with a couple of cross-country races and now you’ve started 2008 with a win at the Human Race. Were you happy with your performance at Human Race? Do you feel that you’ve regained your form from 2006?
I actually was disappointed with my race in the Human Race. I thought I did not execute that race the way I would have liked. I did not challenge myself enough mentally and physically to do my best. Do not take me wrong, I was happy to win, but I was disappointed that I did not push myself harder.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?
One of the reasons, I came back to running is to make the Lithuanian Olympic Team in 3000SC. I have a huge goal in front of me this year. I have to run faster than I did before my pregnancy in order to make 'A' Olympic Standard [9:46]. I know that I have to try and do my best to do this. I know I will regret it the rest of my life if I do not try to make it.

I'm not familiar with Lithuania’s qualifying process. Is it like in the US with a meet and the top 3 finishers go to the Olympics or do you just need to run 9:46 at any open event?
In Lithuania we do not have trials, since the country is very small and there are hardly 3 athletes that do ‘A’ standard in the same event. Thus, anyone in Lithuania who accomplishes ‘A’ standard can go.

Technically, I can go to Olympics with ‘B’ standard, unless someone else from Lithuania runs ‘A’ or ‘B’ standard.

You ran 9:51 at Drake, were you happy with that effort?
I am not sure if I was satisfied with my race at Drake. Maybe I was too ambitious after delivering baby and not running steeple for about 2 years to do that. Even though I may go to Olympics with this performance, I believe I can do better and I can do ‘A’ standard.

How many more opportunities will you have to get the 'A' standard?
I will try to find some local races here to run and to do that. I know I may not have much competition in here since [Emily] Brown may not be running another steeple till trials. I will look at some races in the US as well, but I have to say that good steeple races in the US are far and few in between.

Do you tend to follow any certain training program? What is your training philosophy?
I do not know if I have any certain training program. I have been coached by about 6 coaches for the different track and field disciplines. I have learned something from each of them. I also have tried a variety of training regimens for the middle and long distance running and found things by trial and error what could/might work for me. I know that people who compete on the elite level train much harder than me and I realize that I might be able to do higher workloads if I just concentrate on my running, sleep 8-10 hours per day, and not have to work as much. However, my reality is different and I have to make the best out of what I have. Sometimes I joke with my husband and say that I am a lazy runner.

Most of weeks, I do 2-4 hard workouts. The workouts vary depending on the training cycle. I do very easy and slow runs in between the hard workouts and one longer run. I try to do some hurdle and strength training every week.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strength is my persistence and perseverance.

I believe that my biggest weakness is my psychology and mentality during my races. My husband is a psychologist and he always tells me that my biggest enemy during my races is myself.

What is your favorite race distance? I don’t think you’ve ever run a marathon. Do you have any plans on giving that a shot?
My favorite distance is 1500m, but I am not fast enough for this event. If you know me I actually do not like anything above 1500m. I actually ran a marathon in Chicago in 2003. My friend was running and she talked me into running it as well. I actually enjoyed it, maybe because I was not running that fast and my last 8 miles were a faster pace than my pace in the first 18 miles.

What is your fondest running memory?
My fondest running memory is from 2005 World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki. I stood on the starting line and the track venue was full of spectators - amongst them were my parents, my brother, my in-laws, and my husband. I felt such an accomplishment inside of me that I was able to be a part of the strongest field in the world in 3000SC.

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?
My favorite race on the road would be Brian Kraft 5K and on the track Drake Relays.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
I actually thought about it a lot. Minnesota amazes me with the depth of runners in every age group and gender. I would love to run with many of the past or present runners - young, elite, veterans, collegiate runners etc... Every time, I run with someone, I feel I get recharged and energized by it and does not matter if they are the elite runners or recreational runners. I am not afraid to ask to join someone running on the river road especially if I seen them running many times in the past, but never got to talk to them. I guess, I sometimes need company in my running, since I have been training on my own for the last 8 years.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I wish I had known how to recover faster after my hard workouts and how to take better care of my body when I was younger. I wish I would have known all nutrition and recovery strategies when I was younger and I wish I would have known that doing less in your workouts is better than overdoing. I think I could have been a much better runner when I was younger. Currently, I realize and understand all necessary things I need to do to run well and to succeed. However, I have many priorities (like any other women in the US having a family and raising a child) that are on the higher end of my priorities and sometimes recovery goals after my workouts and my planned workouts do not get accomplished.

KIRT GOETZKE

2008-04-01T21:29:00.005-05:00

While you may not know Kirt Goetzke, 47 of Plymouth, there's a good chance you've seen him at a race - any race. That's because Kirt has increased the number of races he's run for each of the last 22 years. In 2007, that meant finishing the year with 102 races - for the year. And we're not talking just 5K and 10K races, as Kirt would also like to run a marathon in all 50 states and DC - all under 3 hours. Just last weekend he was able to mark Washington DC off his list with a 2:54:14 finish at the Sun Trust National Marathon. I guess it's no surprise that he wanted to make sure I posted this interview on April 1st. (Photo by Todd Sheldon)

When and how did you get involved with running?
I got involved to run with my wife - she still thinks she's faster - and no, she doesn't run anymore.

How come you didn’t run in high school?
I was a motorhead, so I lived and breathed cars, plus worked on them 40 hours a week during school and 60 hours a week during the summer. Funny thing was in Junior High I worked for and was friends with the math teacher, who was also the cross country coach, something I didn't know until later.

How many races have you run in your life? Is there some record you’re aiming for or do you just love to race?
1,353 at the end of 2007. Love? More like trying to improve or just out-last.

How many races do you tend to run a year?
One more than the year before – for the last 22 years.

With so many races, can you pick a favorite local and/or national race?
Do you mean year, month, weekend, weekday?

Do you feel like you’ve had to make any compromises to your personal life in order to race so frequently?
Well my drag racing and snowmobiling have taken a backseat while my times have been good.

You’re already one of the top runners in your age group and even own some state age records. However, do you think you could run faster if you focused on fewer key races?
Even if I ran faster, Digger Carlson would still wipe any records I set, clean the next year.

What are your PRs?
I rewrote all but my marathon PR at age 42
5K - 16:23
8K - 27:06
10K - 33:33
Half - 1:16:01
25K - 1:32:08
Full - 2:37:56 (age 31)

With racing so much, I’m really curious about your training philosophy. Do you have a “normal” base-building period, do you do any additional speedwork throughout the year, do you take any downtime at the end of the season, etc.?
Well, the first weekend in March has no races, does that count as downtime? 30 miles a week in March, 50 April, 80 in May, 10 milers Mon-Fri 30 on weekends through September. Fair weather runner to the max!

How do you manage to stay injury free?
Don't run fast, one or two Ibuprofen a year. Soaking in Lake Calhoun after most runs once the ice goes off.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
I start slow, then try to reel everyone back in, easier when hot since running in the heat is a definite strength. However, not able to run fast in the cold.

What is your fondest running memory?
Running with Brian Kraft around the lakes. First overall win at the State Fair Milk Run for the last time it was an 8K and then winning again the next year for the first 5K.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Ron Daws, he may be the only runner that I missed out on.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
Run with faster runners and copy them.

JAN GUENTHER

2008-02-03T08:51:00.000-06:00

Somehow it seems appropriate to be posting this interview the morning of the City of Lakes Loppet. While Jan Guenther, 48 of Mound, is an excellent runner, she’s probably better known for her triathlon and cross-country skiing performances. Wrap them all together, along with her highly successful business, Gear West and you have perhaps the most highly recognized endurance athlete in the region. [Please note: Jan finished 134th overall (8th woman) at the City of Lakes Loppet with a time of 1:33:43 - winning her age-group by nearly 15 minutes.]

What was your first endurance sport? When and how did you first get involved with endurance sports?
Triathlons. I may have done some 10Ks first, but I quickly moved into triathlons. That was in 1983 and I was in Illinois at the time. I quit work, finished business school, and bought a couple of bike stores.

Was buying a bike store your plan all along?
No. I had no plan. I was tired of what I was doing and I didn’t think my employer was going to move me along where I wanted to go. About that time, I ran into some people who introduced me to the Border-to-Border race. Then, when I finished grad school, I bought two bikes shops in Elgin, Illinois with three other people.

What brought you to Minnesota and when did you move here?
I moved here in 1991. By that time I had started skiing and I was dating our ski rep, Brian Knutson, who I’m now married to.

What is your favorite sport?
Skiing!

It’s been a good winter for that.
Thank goodness. It’s been a steady season and it’s probably the best winter in 9-10 years.

That’s a good thing considering you just expanded your store.
Sometimes luck works out. If we were this busy last year at our other location, we wouldn’t be able to fit everyone in the store. Best of all, everyone’s happy. It’s hard to sell skis if no one can use them.

It’s been said that cross-country skiing is the best cross-training exercise for runners. What advice would you give runners that are interested in skiing, but are not sure how to get involved or are intimidated by things like waxing?
You really don’t have to make the whole waxing thing that difficult. You don’t want to talk to anyone that takes the waxing thing too serious. If you end up really loving skiing, you make a ton of time for it. And there are a lot of runners who’ve done that. But you do end up not running because it’s hard to do both unless you have a lot of free time. And once learn the technique you’ll find it’s a great aerobic compliment and it easier on the legs. If you can get the technique to the point where you can get a workout, you will realize that it’s incredibly beneficial. In fact it tones up your whole body more than running will. It really does. The only problem is that you end up being really fit in March and you have to be really careful getting back into running to make sure you don’t get injured.

How long would you say it takes someone to get the skate skiing technique down?
We’ll I’ve done a lot of coaching and it seems like it helps adults if they have some experience with roller blading, ice skating or even downhill skiing – anything with that side-to-side motion. It’s the person that’s never done those things that has the most difficult time learning.

You mentioned coaching, are you coaching at the high school level or adults?
Once in awhile we’ll coach high schools, but actually for the past 12 years we’ve had a program on Wednesday nights from 6-7:30 PM. We meet at French or Elm Creek, depending upon the snow. We’ve had anywhere from 85-95 people, along with about 7 coaches and we primarily focus on skating.

I also have a women’s weekend up north in the Hayward/Cable area that I do with another coach. That’s always the second week in December and we had 91 women this year.

Do you find the number of skiers is growing?
There’s always a lot of interest in skiing when there’s snow. It’s all about snow.

The sport of triathlon seems to be growing too.
Triathlon is super solid for many reasons. First thing, it’s not like skiing where it’s dependant on the weather. You might have some rainy weekends, but overall it doesn’t really affect the sport. Plus, it’s an Olympic sport now and there are so many clubs so it really is encouraging for all different levels to learn. So you can build on that. You can create clubs and training groups and you know what is going to happening – you can count on consistent growth. Whereas, if you can keep skiing going, you’re lucky. We can’t organize too many skiing race series because so many end up being cancelled. Some are picking up this year, but you can’t build on it for obvious reasons.

When did you first open Gear West?
We first opened in 1992. Since then we’ve move 5 times. By the third time, we split the skiing shop and bike shop – moving just down the street. Then we added running shoes, so that we’d have some business in the summers. At that time Brian was running the ski/running store and I was running the bike/tri store with Kevin O’Connor. Brian and I were getting so busy with kids that we convinced Kevin to buy the triathlon store. Our first love is skiing no matter what, so he bought the bike store and uses our name as long as he owns the store.

So you don’t own any part of that?
No, not the bike and tri store. But we own the name.

And now with your new location, you’re back together again?
Yeah, it wasn’t until they build the by-pass around town that we were able to convince the gas station to sell us their land. It was about a two-year process. By the time we were able to build this new building, Kevin needed more room. So now we’re all in the same building. They’re still two separate business and you can’t walk through one store to get to get to the other, but we’re in the same building.

That should be the last move. We started with 500 square feet. Now between the two stores we probably have 20,000 square feet.

I know you have a catalog business too. How important is that?
For us it’s really important. For us to have our ski inventory, we have to be able to sell them outside the area – anywhere there’s snowfall. The catalog is almost like it’s own business. It has its own challenges, its own employees, its own life.

Any thoughts in opening another store, like Gear East, that would be closer to, say, my house in Apple Valley and eastern metro area?
No! It’s very easy for me to say No. We can’t stretch ourselves any thinner. It’s already hard enough to find good employees and to balance it all. We can’t do it.

What is your training philosophy and how do you balance all your different endurance activities?
I think it changes depending on where you’re at in your life cycle. The balance changes. I was probably more involved with sports when the kids, and I, were younger. Honestly, I’ve been cutting back more as I get older, the kids demand more, and the store grows. It’s a fight because I always want to do more than I have time to do.

What are your goals for 2008?
I’m really focusing on the store. It takes a long time to settle into a new store and implement all our ideas. The catalog business is like a black hole, you can grow it forever and ever. That’s exciting, but also challenging. I’m not real technological, so I have to work on learning it and I have to rely on the people I hire. That’s a huge challenge and it keeps me on my toes. But it’s fun, it’s not like you open a store front and wait for people to trickle on by.

Although I’m focusing more on the store, I’ll try to ski as much as possible. I’ll do the Vasa Loppet, the Birkie, the Pepsi Challenge, the Seely Classic, all the local races.

What are your PRs?
Well, skiing is all dependant on the snow. I maybe have a 3:07 marathon. I don’t know if it was broken this year, but I held the amateur course record at Ironman Wisconsin. [Note: Jan won the 40-44 age group at the 2002 race with a 10:24:42, which included a 3:26 marathon].

What do you consider your strongest and weakest sports?
My strongest is skiing. Weakest would be swimming. To be a really good triathlete, you have to be a really good swimmer from high school. And you have to have the time to practice.

Obviously, there’s a lot of technique involved with both…Skiing just comes a lot easier for me.

What is your fondest endurance sport memory?
I have so many wonderful memories. One of my most interesting memories is from a triathlon I did in Colorado called the Mountain Man Triathlon. It’s not around anymore but it was about a 7-hour race that consisted of cross-country skiing, speed skating, and snowshoeing.

That’s probably what got me into a lot of this stuff – I remember seeing a woman on the cover of Outside magazine when I was in my cubicle at work. She was the queen of this particular sport and I thought God if I ever quit this, I’m going to go do that.

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?
The Mora Vasaloppet is always a wonderful one. I’ve gone to Mora, Sweden to do the Vasaloppet from winning the Mora, MN race. It’s just fascinating because the Minnesota race is almost exactly like the one in Sweden. It’s patterned after it. The townsmen have that Swedish heritage and the land is like Mora, Sweden.

If you could train with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
All my women friends – depending on who can fit my schedule and what I’m training for. I have faster people that I try to train with when I’m training for triathlons. Then my longer distance people if I’m trying to train for an Ironman. And there are some older friends when I’m tired and have to go slow [laughs].

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first got started?
I wish I learned to ski really early, so I could have taken it further than I was able to take it. Other than that, I feel really fortunate because it pretty much shaped my life in terms of where I took the business. It got me out of the cubicle and the direction I would have gone, which was probably banking or accounting. And, for the most part, I think it has made it a more colorful life than it might have been.

SUE RUBENS

2008-01-05T19:33:00.000-06:00

I almost hate to open up this "can of worms known" as triathletes. However, it’s not every day when a former training partner qualifies for the Ironman World Champions in Kona, Hawaii. Sue Rubens, 41 of Plymouth, did just that in early November at Ironman Florida where she swam 2.4 miles in 1:12:41, biked 112 miles in 5:06:35, and then ran a marathon in 3:47:21. Not only was her total time of 10:14:31 a PR by one hour and 45 minutes, but she broke Jan Guenther’s mark for a Minnesota Master, and she was less than 2 minutes behind Minnesota’s best short course triathlete, Cathy Yndestad. (Photo courtesy of Sue Rubens)

First off, congratulations on your Ironman Hawaii qualifying performance. Before we get to that, can you briefly describe your previous Ironman (IM) attempts?
My first two Ironman races were under decidedly different extreme weather conditions in my home state of Wisconsin. My first Ironman was IM WI ’05 in which the brutal heat of 90+ degrees truly made life interesting for the athletes. I believe the race had the highest DNF rate of any IM distance with nearly 20% of the field not finishing. At mile 60 of the bike, my left leg went into a severe and mind-numbing cramp that brought out some words this Catholic girl doesn’t use often! I was forced to peddle with one leg on and off for the remainder of the ride; after I reached the transition area my legs were so spent and I was so salt-depleted that I literally tipped over my bike and had to be carried to the transition room. In my runner’s “high” or delirium, I thought I would be fine once I started to run (Ha!). Apparently my body thought it should be at the bar as my legs crumpled under me with the first stride. I thought, well I guess I will walk until I can start running (Ha again!). I shuffled down roads so familiar to me as a Wisconsin-native and graduate of UW Madison but I could barely keep my head up. My husband and sister saw me at mile 8 of the marathon and were ready to yank me out but I mumbled/drooled something about “no way” as they both joined me in walking the rest of the race. When it was all said and done, I finished at 15:26, probably the proudest if not ugliest finish of any race of my life! I had lost nearly 12 lbs during the race yet I am proud to say as a true Wisconsinite, I did make it to the Great Dane bar for beer and nachos afterwards!

IM WI ’06 was the polar opposite conditions - featuring cold, wind and rain with almost a 40-degree temperature swing from the year before. It was a different type of test to endure the unrelenting wind and rain but I crazily had something to prove from the previous year and I came in at 12:00.

After battling hot and cold conditions you decided to head south to Ironman Florida this year. How were the conditions and how did the race play out?
The weather for IM FL was absolutely perfect with a light breeze and temps in the low 70s. I was apprehensive about the ocean swim and what the waves/salt water inhalation would be like, but it honestly could not have been much better as the water was calm and the sea creatures kept to themselves! I got out of the water and thought my time was 10 minutes worse than what it actually was, so I was a little PO’d heading onto the bike. The bike course is a one-loop route on flat and smooth roads – it is a great course to get into a consistent rhythm and stick with it (which was a good thing as my bike computer had went haywire after the first 10 miles). The run course is a nice, uneventful two-loop flat route with plenty of fan support along the way.

Unlike a running event with a qualifying standard of usually time or place, spots to Hawaii are determined by a predetermined number of slots, which vary by each age group. Given the makeup of the event, it can be nearly impossible to know where you are standing within your age group. When did you realize you had qualified for Hawaii?
I didn’t find out for sure until after the race, I had looked at times from the previous 4 years and knew I had been faster but I was nervous about how many gals were ahead of me and how many spots were allocated for my age group.

Was qualifying your only goal or did you have a time goal too?
Qualifying was the primary goal along with coming in between 10:30 – 10:45. Interestingly, had I finished in my original goal time I probably would not have qualified for Hawaii even though that was the range of qualifying times the last 4 years. The woman who won my age group had a rock star performance and beat many of the pros!

In the sport of triathlon, an injury can be a blessing in disguise – especially if it limits your stronger sport because as it forces you work on your weaker events. Can you tell us about the injury that kept you from running and how your subsequent biking improved?
I was diagnosed with a stress reaction in my left hip in April ’07 due to overdoing it with too much winter fun during the February snowstorm. A stress reaction is basically a precursor to a full-blown stress fracture, which made it very painful to put full weight on my left leg. My doctor immediately took me off of running and was very cautious about the type of cardio I was allowed to do (i.e. elliptical ok, stairmaster not ok). I ended up being off of running for over 3 months and directed my training to swimming, biking, and elliptical workouts. I love biking so spending more time in the saddle was great! I was able to do significant mileage, which undoubtedly contributed to an overall improvement in biking power.

While the races themselves are solo efforts, training is not. Tell us a little bit about training with Matt and his P2 group.
Coach Matt is passionate about the sport of triathlon and has guided many athletes to their best performances. This past season was my 3rd year with the P2 group - it is an awesome mix of athletes of all ages who work hard, train hard and sometimes play hard! The support everyone gives each other is pretty amazing; there wasn’t one race I did this year that didn’t have another P2 teammate participating or on-site providing boisterous fan support! There hasn’t been a race yet that I haven’t learned something from watching my teammates compete.

Most triathletes come from a strong background in one of the disciplines. What’s your background and how’d you get involved with triathlons?
I started running marathons when I turned 30 and enjoyed training with Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA). I enjoyed the singular focus of marathon training and competed at Grandma’s, Chicago, Boston, New York, Dublin, and Portland. But my body was getting a little beat up by the running mileage so I knew I needed to find another competitive outlet. I had always loved to bike and was an average swimmer so I thought I’d try triathlons and I was bitten by the tri bug! One of my friends from MDRA told me about the P2 group so that seemed like a great fit if I decided to refocus on running down the road.

If you could swim, bike and/or run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
That is a good question! There are so many athletes I have come to admire since I started doing tris that I just hope to keep learning from the athletes who have set the standard in not only race performance but also sportsmanship and class on race day.

You’re a HUGE Wisconsin Badger at heart, yet your husband, J Robinson, coaches wrestling at the University of Minnesota. How does that work?
J knew he married a gal whose blood runs Badger red! He is a good sport about it and endures the grief he gets from U of M athletes and staff when he has to use my car with all of the Badger fan fare on it. For my 40th birthday last year he surprised me with a party at Camp Randall football stadium complete with a visit from Bucky Badger so I secretly think he yearns to be a Badger!

I assume J has given a pep talk or two in his life. What did he tell you before Florida?
J has been by far the most important factor in how I process competition and training. Throughout the season he sends me cards, notes, and emails with words of encouragement and support. He respects the time commitment needed for IM training and has always been my biggest fan. Before Florida he told me that I was ready, that I had worked my tail off and that to take each phase of the race as it comes. He had finagled a press pass for the race so he was in the chute when I ran by (not expecting the kiss I planted on him at the turn around point, nothing like seeing a tough guy really embarrassed!).

Finally, since you’re the best party planner around, what’s the key to hosting a great party?
Great music, a wide selection of food and beverages and a handy supply of paper towels for the many mystery spills that turn up!

MARIE SAMPLE

2007-12-17T12:47:00.000-06:00

After missing the 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifying mark by less than 30 seconds – TWICE – in 2003, Marie Sample wasn’t about to make the same mistakes in 2007. After a heart-to-heart talk with her husband this summer, the 31-year old Marshall resident upped her mileage like never before. She was rewarded with over a two minute PR and, more importantly, that ever-elusive OTM qualifier. With the help of Charlie Mahler of Down the Backstretch, we were able to get some answers from Marie on her race, her training, and where she hopes to go from here. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba)

First off, congrats on your Olympic Trials qualifier at the California International Marathon (CIM). What was your PR prior to the race?
2:48.14 (chip time)

What was your race plan?
My race plan was to get qualified. I have been very humbled by this distance. This was only my sixth marathon but I have realized that even-pacing throughout the run is the best way for me to race. Therefore, I wanted to run a 6:18 to 6:20 pace the entire race. I hoped to feel good enough to pick it up the last 6 miles or so.

How did your race play itself out?
I ended up starting a little fast because of the big down hills. I knew there were about 25 other women there trying to qualify, but I also felt that many of them were going to go out too hard and that they would pay later.

There were basically two packs of women. I ran in the smaller pack that was just behind the big pack of women. All of the people - guys and gals alike - fell off my pack and I found myself running alone around mile 10. I could see the pack in front of me, but I also was bucking quite a headwind on my own which made it difficult to try to catch them. I ended up running alone from there on out.

I felt pretty beat at mile 15 and I was still bucking the headwind. However, I just kept with the plan and hoped my body would recover a bit. It did recover and I felt like a new person at mile 18 after slamming two power gels and drinking a bunch of Ultima. I started catching that lead pack. I heard a guy yell, "You need a 20 minute 5K to qualify.” I was feeling great at that point and I knew I had the qualifier in hand.

This was the best race I have ever run in my life and certainly the most rewarding. I did what I set out to do. The finish was a 3-block horseshoe. I was bound and determined not to turn the last corner and see that the clocked had just flipped past the qualifying time (2:47). I have done that twice before and that is tough watch. This time, when I made the left hand turn to start sprinting the last 100 yards, I saw 2:45.43. Tears were already rolling. It’s a dream come true!

This wasn’t your first attempt at qualifying for the trials. In 2004 the standard was 2:48 and on two occasions you narrowly missed by running 2:48:28 and 2:48:21 (gun times). Did you ever petition the USATF to let you in?
I didn't petition. A friend of mine mentioned trying that because I was so close but I didn't feel I deserved to be there because I hadn't made the qualifying time.

What did you learn from those near misses that you applied, either to your training or your race strategy, this time around?
I learned that I could do it but I needed to work harder.

In early August I had a heart-to-heart talk with my husband, Dave. I told him that I still felt like I needed to take a shot at qualifying. I also told him that I am going to have to work a lot harder and that I planned to work my way up to 100-mile weeks. He said, "I'm behind you 100 percent. Quit your job you have too, take naps whenever you can and get your training in. You can and will do this."

So, I cut back my hours at the Y but still kept coaching cross country at Marshall High School. I ran at 4am before work. I would come home at 11:30am and then head out for a run while Dave was on his lunch hour. Then I would grab a nap that would sometimes only be 15 minutes before heading out to cross country practice. I would run their track workouts with them and I would also run their regular runs with them.

How would you describe the rest of your 2007 season?
I have been on and off competitive running the past few years. My husband and I wanted a family and so we have taken time to do that. I had started my marathon training again January of 2007. I ran a decent run at Human Race (29:45) but then developed tendonitis in my knee that just wouldn't go away. I wasn't getting enough sleep at night and I was really just trying to cram in whatever workout I could get.

I had originally hoped to try to Qualify at Grandma's but the tendonitis kept me from running enough miles. It was hot also, but that is not why I ran so poorly (3:05). I was pretty discouraged after Grandma's. I still had this dream to qualify but I was starting to wonder if I was going to be able to figure out how to get that done. I ran a few local and smaller races in June and July while running 50 to 55 mile weeks.

I won the Sioux Falls half marathon on September 9th with a 1:23.16. (One minute slower than my first half of the marathon in Sacramento). I kept training and then 6 days later won a 10K in 37:01 on a very windy day. The following weekend I won the Jack 15 in Brookings South Dakota. My last race before CIM was the Twin Cities 10 mile race where I ran 1:01.16.

At that point I was gaining confidence and I decided to zero in on a marathon to race. I picked Sacramento for a couple reasons. I had been told that the course is well run, the weather is usually favorable, and that it can be fast. My sister and her family also live there and we never see them. It was also in early December, which gave me more time to pack on the miles and to do speedwork on the track.

Did you find it difficult training for a December marathon?
I don't mind running in the cold and wind. I train in wind here year round. The part that made it the most challenging was the short hours of daylight. It was dark when I ran in the morning and dark in the evenings. My track workouts had to be run over the noon hour while Dave was at home watching the girls. The weather in Sacramento was a treat after training in the cold weather here.

Can you explain your training briefly; length of your training cycle, mpw, key workouts, etc.?
I basically accomplished this goal by running high mile weeks, doing mile repeats on the track once and sometimes twice a week, tempo runs, long runs on the weekends, and some days of 10 miles at 4am before work followed by 10 miles at 11:30am after work.

Marshall is very flat so I ran 10 to 15 mile hill runs at Camden State Park. I traveled to Dave's parent's house in Madison, SD for my weekend long runs because it is very hilly there and I have great memories of running there in college.

You were able to hit 100 mpw five times during the month of October. Was that new territory for you or had you run that kind of mileage before? If it was new territory, what was your mindset like at the time (i.e. was there concern for injury or overtraining or were you just “going for it” no matter what)?
Yes, 100-mile weeks were certainly new territory. The biggest week I logged prior to that was 66 miles. I briefly thought about injury, but mostly thought about pushing my body as hard as I could and then resting it so it could recover and rebuild. I was definitely "going for it" but I was also careful. I know you need to rest in-between hard workouts so I would take naps when I could.

I also ate about as healthy as one person could eat. I would make vegetable stir-fry 5 to 6 times a week. I ate egg whites for extra protein. I ate lots of whole grain carbs when needing energy. I also became the lightest and most fit I have ever been in my life. Dave gave me massages almost every evening. My hamstrings were really my only concern. They were pretty tight right before I started my taper. However, I recovered nicely during the taper.

You were a decent enough runner in high school to qualify for the 1993 state cross country meet. However, I get the impression that you never considered yourself a runner until you happened to bump into your (future) husband, Dave, while at Dakota State University. Would you agree and how did that chance meeting change things for you?
Meeting Dave and his dad changed my life and my outlook on life forever. I didn't consider myself anything special until I met them. They saw something I didn't and made me feel like I could reach whatever goals I set in my life. Instead of people telling me that I couldn't do things, Dave and his dad were busy telling me I "could" do things.

Where I grew up, people judged you on your family's success. Both of my parents spent a lot of their lives thinking they weren't smart enough and/or good enough. I grew up with similar feelings about myself but the difference is that I wanted more and I wanted to break out of that cycle.

Fortunately, I was able to get out of town and go to college. That is where I met Dave and where my life changed forever. These things didn't just happen by chance. This was part of a higher and much bigger plan.

What are you doing right now and what’s your training plan prior to the Trials?
I am resting - shorter easy runs and some cross training - through Christmas. That being said, I couldn't help myself from running 4 miles at 6:15 pace recently. It just felt so good to run that fast.

After Christmas, I am going to push back into higher mileage that will include tempo runs, pace runs, mile repeats, hill workouts, and long runs. My goal is to run faster times than I ran this fall and to continue to improve. I would really like to see how much tougher I can make myself by taper time at the beginning of April.

You’ve obviously made sacrifices, like cutting back your work schedule and 4 AM wake-up calls in order to train. Is this a one-time accomplishment to say you’ve “been there, done that” or do you see yourself continuing on with your sacrifices to see just how good you can be?
This isn't a one-time accomplishment. Life is about making sacrifices if you want to improve. I will continue to work my training in around my work and family responsibilities. I have cut my work hours way back but I stay there for a couple reasons. I love people and love to help them. 13 years ago, I started to learn about love and giving even when you don't have too. Dave's dad sacrificed many hours to help me train and to tutor me in Math - just to name a few. It has been a continual education since I ran into those two guys. I married my best friend and I gained a new dad.

I am very encouraged by what I have just experienced and I want to see just how good I can be. I really think I have just scratched the surface on how hard I can work and what I can accomplish. I took some downtime on and off since college to have my 3 daughters and now I can work on my running. I see myself only getting stronger both physically and mentally. God willing, the next few years should be very productive with a lot of hard work, which will hopefully result in some big PR's.

What will I be able to do with three more months of high miles? How about three more years of high miles? Could I run a 2:33 marathon if I continue to adapt my training and work this hard? I'm starting to think the sky is the limit. I have a very supportive family, a lot of drive and desire, and faith that God will give me the strength to do whatever I put my mind too.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?

Strengths - Self Discipline. Determination. I am not afraid of hard work. I have the best support crew in the world. I have faith that God will give me the strength to do whatever I set my mind too. Even if I fall short of what I was shooting for, I want to be able to say I gave it my best and I worked as hard as I could have. My family will still love me in the end.

Weaknesses - I train on my own because there is nobody else here that can keep up. I bug a few of my friends for running and training advice but I don't have anyone putting a concrete plan together for me. I e-mailed Gloria Jansen just for some reassurance on the taper 3 weeks before the CIM. I am trying to learn as much as I can about how the body works and how to train it the best way possible to race the marathon. I'm still learning. I could learn more.

What are your PRs?

800m - 2:20
1500m - 4:42
3000m - 9:52
5K - 17:21
8K - 29:45
10K - 35:45
10 mile - 1:01.16
Half - 1:18.51
25K - 1:35
Marathon - 2:45.58

Do you have a favorite local and/or national race?
I really like racing in the Twin Cities for some reason. They do such a great job putting on their races. I, plain and simply, just love to race. I love to test my limits and to try to improve. That is how I live my life. I need to keep improving no matter what it is I am doing. The Twin Cities Marathon is special to me because that was my second complete marathon but my first attempt at qualifying for the Trials. Even tough I didn't qualify; it was there that I first felt like I could qualify.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
Part of me wishes I would have known more about my talent. A lot of that goes back to what I said before regarding where I grew up and how people judged you.

DENNIS BARKER

2007-12-10T20:39:00.000-06:00

If there's ever a break for Dennis Barker during the year, now is probably it. The Augburg College and Team USA Minnesota coach just finished up a busy fall of cross country and the Olympic Marathon Trials. With the track and field Olympic Trials scheduled for next summer, Dennis could have his hands full very shortly. Luckily, I was able to track him down and get his thoughts on Team Minnesota, yesteryear, and his best Henny Youngman impersonation. You can also get more of Dennis' thoughts by listening to this podcast from October.

The Olympic Trials Marathon was a month ago and you just wrapped up your college cross-country season. What are you doing with “all” your free time?
The Monday morning after the Trials I was working out with the rest of the Team USA Minnesota runners. All of the runners go through their training, racing, and resting cycles but because we cover a broad range of events throughout the year, there is always someone to coach. There is never a time when they are all taking a break at the same time.

The Augsburg Track & Field team also did a 24-hour Run-a-Thon. It’s a fund raising relay. The first snowstorm of the year began at the same time the run began. The team was undeterred though and covered 176 miles during the 24 hours, all outside. The throwers, sprinters, and jumpers all took their turns.

I also went to see No Country For Old Men, which I was looking forward to because the book was written by Cormac McCarthy, who wrote one of my favorite all-time books – Blood Meridian, and was produced by my favorite producers, the Coen brothers.
I’m also planning the next internal Team USA Minnesota training summit.

You received some nice press prior to the men’s Olympic Marathon Trials. You have to be pleased with Jason Lehmkuhle and Chris Lundstrom’s races?
Yeah, I’m pleased. The training worked and the plan was well executed. It was gratifying to see them both negative split and run so strong in the second half.

Heading into that race, what were your expectations for each of them?
Both Jason and I thought he had a chance to make the team. He put himself in position to do it late in the race and almost made it. I also thought he would set a significant PR, in the range of 2:11-2:13 depending on how the race went. I thought Chris could PR as well. He had a different challenge in recovering from the Pan Am Games Marathon in August and then getting in a short training period before the Trials. I think given the difficulty of the course, it was certainly close to a PR effort.

In addition to that race, 2008 will be a big year for Team Minnesota athletes. How do you continue building on what you’ve already established and resist the urge to work harder than normal, which could lead to over-training?
Except for Jason and Chris we were more low key this year both in training and racing just to be a little more hungry, under-trained and mentally fresh going into 2008. We also have built-in cycles that include down time, even when they don’t think they need it.

Team Minnesota definitely has a Midwest feel to it as many of the runners are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio. Is that by design or did it just sort of happen?
Our priority has always been to provide promising distance runners from Minnesota and the Midwest with an opportunity to make the jump from collegiate to professional running. But if someone from California or Florida thinks they can handle it here, we would consider them.

Brooks-Hansons is another program that’s had success. Their men’s program is nearly twice the size of Team Minnesota. Is a larger squad something you’d like to see in the future?
No, we want to keep it at 12-15 with about the same number of men and women. That’s the size we feel is best to maintain a high quality program. Each of the major training groups in the U.S. does it the way that works best for them. Most of them have a revenue stream or are connected to a larger corporate entity. We’re a nonprofit. We want to be good, not big.

Could the Dennis Barker of yesteryear make the team?
My mind could have but my body wouldn’t let it.

What are your PR’s?

5K - 14:41
8K - 24:22
10K - 29:58
Marathon - 2:25:47

Who did you train with in your prime?
I trained on my own, which I think was best for me. I didn’t want someone trashing me when I was feeling bad or holding me back when I was feeling good. There were a lot of guys that I usually beat in races that I couldn’t have kept up with in practice (if they were telling the truth about their workout times). I was consistently a better racer than trainer. One of the few times I did a track workout with someone else I pulled my hamstring trying to stay with him. I did enjoy some long runs with John Hogan though.

Finally, is there a single biggest mistake that you see runners making with their training?
I don’t know much about most people’s training so take my wife – please (that was for all of you Henny Youngman fans out there). Anyway, her biggest mistake is that she doesn’t listen to me. No, I take that back. She listens to me too much. She overhears me telling people what to do over the phone and then goes out and does it the next day. But I never tell anyone to do anything easy over the phone, just hard, so she never gets an easy day. This has, however, led to the only Minnesota single-age record certificate ever being sent to our house. They didn’t have them when I ran. I think there’s a lesson in there somewhere for everyone.

BARNEY KLECKER

2007-12-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

It’s pretty hard to talk about the history of running in Minnesota and not mention the name Klecker. Having already interviewed Janis last month, I figured I’d better strike while the iron was hot and interview Barney too. In addition to winning numerous marathons, Barney, 56 of Minnetonka, was not afraid to mix it up on the ultra-marathon scene. He won the inaugural Edmund Fitzgerald 100K in 1982 by nearly an hour and a half – running in 6:50:43. He also held the World Record for 50 miles with a time of 4:51 – that’s 5:49 per mile pace.

Since Barney tends to stay as far away from computers as possible, this interview was conducted over the phone. Nearly all my other interviews have been done through emails, so you may get a different feel from these Q&As. (Photo by Scott Schneider)

For those that may not be aware you your accomplishments, what are some of your running accolades that you’re most proud of?
I won Grandma’s Marathon in 1978 and the Olympic Sports Festival Marathon in Colorado Springs in 1979. I won the City of Lakes Marathon in 1977 and 1979 and was second in Chicago in 1978.

It was hot in Chicago that year, but I didn’t mind. I actually loved running in the heat. I trained in the heat. Most of my marathons I ran without drinking water. I’d go on 30 mile training runs and not drink any water. It helped that I was not a big sweater and I never got thirsty.

Had I practiced taking liquids I probably could have done it in races. But I always cramped when I drank water. Even when I set my record [4:51] for 50 miles in 1980 in Chicago, I drank 3 ounces of water at 44 miles and cramped up. That slowed me down by about 5 minutes. I was up on the World Record by 5 minutes and the last 6 miles were pretty ugly. I only broke the record by like a minute.

I still own a bunch of American Records for races on the track; 20 miles, 25 miles, marathon and 50K.

You broke 3 hours for 50K many occasions, yet you were never credited with the American Record. What gives?
Yeah, I don’t know how they worked that out. I can’t even remember my fastest 50K. I want to say I ran 2:52-2:53 numerous times.

Was the ratification of the record ever a concern of yours?
You know, I ran to win. They had records and I certainly was running for them. I assumed race directors would take care of it. I didn’t waste too much time worry about it though.

What do you think set you apart from other runners at that time?
I ran track in college. I loved track. I was a miler and also ran the half. I got 6th place in the indoor 1000 meters in 1973 in the NAIA. I loved running the mile, but our team didn’t have anyone that was very good at the 3 or 6 mile, so as the season went on I began to run those events to pick up points.

I did a lot to track training. I loved running 200 and 400 meter repeats – even during my marathon training. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best training to run a fast marathon.

I could go out and run a lot of miles. I can remember averaging over 100 mpw for an entire year. I wasn’t afraid to run a lot of miles. In the summers I would frequently run 150-170 mpw. I wasn’t afraid to run 35 to 40 mile training runs. A lot of my 50K races were used as hard training runs. So I didn’t hit the wall running a marathon.

And I think the other thing that helped me a lot is that I enjoyed running 200 and 400 repeats. So, I wasn’t intimidated when I dropped down to 5K and 10K races. I could go out with the leaders in 4:25-4:30, but I always had tired legs [from running so many miles] and I would fade. Had I actually trained for 10K and tapered, I think I could have run well under 29 minutes and I think I could have run close to a 4-minute mile. I ran 4:11 when I was 29 just doing a lot of miles and hills – no speedwork.

I would have loved to out to Oregon in 1980 and been a miler and 5000 meter runner. I didn’t have great speed, but I could run a 50-51 seconds quarter mile.

It doesn’t sound like your ultra training was much different than your marathon training.
Because I was teaching, I had summers off and I’d really soak up the long hard miles in the summer. A lot of long runs, a lot of high mileage, a lot of races. Then when I got into the school year I’d do one-a-day training Monday through Friday and I’d get into track training – it really wasn’t so specific.

I did try to peak for marathons, but I think I only time I really tapered correctly was the 1981 Grandma’s Marathon when I ran 2:15, which is my PR. I remember doing a 2-week taper prior to that race.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s it seems like more of the top runners competed in ultras. Now there seems to be more of a distinct line separating marathoners from ultra marathoners. Would you agree with that?
It depends on what you call “top runners.” I kind of draw the line at 2:20. If they didn’t run faster than that, I didn’t think they were really a serious marathoner. They certainly weren’t someone I’d fear in a race.

It’s not that I was going to scare off someone like Bjorklund, but I wasn’t afraid to go out with these guys head-to-head. If I ran 2:16, they had to run faster to beat me. They weren’t going to cruise. I remember going to a lot of races and I’d go out with the leaders for as long as possible. I remember going through the half of a marathon in 1:05:30-1:07 and I’d try to hang on as long as I could – that was my goal. Then I’d hit the wall and run 2:18-2:20.

Even though I wasn’t ready to run that fast, I just wanted to see how long I could hang on. I wasn’t afraid to hit the wall. A lot of guys will just drop out if they hit the wall more than 2 miles from the finish line. I never, never thought about dropping out of races – not that I didn’t drop out, there were a couple of times that I did.

The U.S. is experiencing resurgence with its distance running. Why do you think that is?
I think for a number of years Runner’s World had these articles that said, “Train for your best marathon on 60 mpw.” But any good marathoner I ever talked to that was consistent told me you have to run 100 mpw. With a very gifted 5K-10K runner, you might be able to structure a program on 80 mpw. My feeling is that you have to condition your body for the pounding of the road for 2+ hours. Yes, you have to run fast, but your body has to be able to take the pounding.

I remember some of the writers didn’t have a lot of positive things to say about Janis make the Olympic Trials in 1992. They I thought I over-trained and over-raced her. They sat on the outside looking in and didn’t really understand was her training program was.

I remember the last time Arthur Lydiard was here, I had his ear for about 3 hours and I showed him all of Janis’ training and asked him what he’d change it. He said “Nothing. She continued to run PRs, right?” And I said “Yeah”. He said the problem with a lot of American coaches is that they read too much and they want to try too many different training philosophies.

You do have to train different runners, different ways. Everyone comes to the table with different skill sets. Some are faster, some have better cardiovascular systems. Janis had a very unique cardiovascular system where she could put the throttle down 4 miles into a 10K and she could run flat-out till the finish. She didn’t have great speed, but boy she could hold onto about 5-minute pace at the end of a 10K better than a lot of women. But she had to train for that too. We had to do specific training to get her ready for that.

Where did you get ideas for her training? Did you read Lydiard’s books?
I was an Arthur Lydiard fan. I believed in time trials. We would substitute a lot of the local races as time trials. She’d be training-through them, so she didn’t really taper. A lot times when they had a 5K and a 10K, she’d run them both. A workout like that would allow her to get in the equivalent of 9 repeat miles. Would you rather do that or go down to the track and run 9 x 1 mile?

Talking it some other people, it sounds like you’d follow that up with a long run the following day?
We would do a long run, it probably wouldn’t be a 30 mile run, but it was probably anywhere from 20-25 miles – depending on where we were in the season. When you’re already beat up a little bit [from the previous day’s racing], we’d go out and do a long run. We’d hit the wall at about 10 miles, but it was part of conditioning the body. Then, of course, you had your easy days in there too.

More recently, you’ve been working with Derek Dippon for the last two years. He’s only been running for four years and he’s already run a 2:30 marathon. What’s your “secret”?
When I started working with Derek I told him he wouldn’t see quick improvement – it’d take a year or two to get used to the training. Once you get used to the mileage that won’t change, but we’ll change the pace where you run intervals.

You have to build that base before you can do quicker stuff. It doesn’t do any good to run 200s and 400s if you can’t run 25-26 miles. If you can’t go out and just run 25 miles at an easy pace, how are you going to race it?

Are you coaching anyone else?
I would call it advising. I don’t do it like I used to. I would write the monthly program for an athlete and then I’d train with at least once a month, either on the track or on the hills so I could coach. I’d go to at least one of their races just to observe and go on a medium-long run with them. Basically, 3-4 times a month I tried to physically workout with them, observe them, time them, run intervals with them.

But I don’t really have any free time. Besides having six kids, I teach full-time and run a business. And I’m as fulfilled as much doing that as running. And I love running. Everyone thinks we stop racing because we got hurt or something. That wasn’t it and it’s not like we don’t love the sport. Janis and I both still love the sport.

What’s your running like now?
If I can get 4 days a week I’m happy. Right now my goal is to keep the pounds off and to be able to run with my kids.

Are your kids showing some signs of interest in the sport?
Well they definitely have blessed genes, but unless they have a passion to run and race, it’s not going to happen. They’re into a lot of different sports; soccer, karate, baseball, and football. I think some of them will come around to running, but it has to be their choice not mine.

Are you still snowshoeing?
We have our snowshoes and we’ll take the kids out once in awhile. It’s still a great, great workout. A lot of people are totally underestimating the positive effects of snowshoeing.

Did you snowshoe when you were running your best times?
Oh yes, that’s when we made big jumps in fitness. When I ran 2:16 at Boston and 2:15 at Grandma’s, I snowshoed a lot those winters. But it was never every day. It’d be 2-3 times a week and we did that in addition to our intervals, hills and long runs. The beauty of the snowshoe workouts is that when you got done, you weren’t hammered. I could go to the track the next day and run intervals because my legs weren’t beat up at all from snowshoeing.

One of my standard questions, to my younger interviewees, is; “If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?” My thinking is they’ll say something like Barney Klecker, Ron Daws, Garry Bjorklund, etc. That makes me curious to hear whom you would choose.
I never trained with Mike Slack or Garry Bjorklund – they kind of trained by themselves. I would have loved to train hard with Garry and Mike. They could have called me anytime day or night to run hills or intervals and I would have been there. But I didn’t know them that well and I did my running around my work.

Did you mostly run by yourself?
Yeah, I mostly ran alone. After I turned 40, I trained with Todd Sperling and Jon Stokka for about 3 years. We’d meet for long runs and intervals. At the time they were about 10 years younger than me and they’d just hammer me during the intervals. But I just enjoyed that so much because I wanted someone to go out and hammer with. Then of course I’d take them on the long 25-mile runs and by 18 - 20 miles they’d be hurting. Then we’d make ourselves hurt a little more – and, of course, give each other a hard time. Those were awful fun times.

JASON LEHMKUHLE

2007-11-14T21:17:00.001-06:00

Although he had already placed in the top-5 at five different championship events this year, ranging from 10K through the half marathon, it’s unlikely that many people picked Jason Lehmkuhle to finish in the top-5 at the Olympic Marathon Trials. However, the 30-year old Minneapolis resident did just that when he dropped his PR from 2:16:27 to 2:12:54.

Prior to the race, Lehmkuhle, one of the charter members of Team USA Minnesota and his coach, Dennis Barker, received some nice press from Runner’s World online. The recognition has continued afterwards with this podcast. (Photo courtesy of Alison Wade)

First off, congratulations on your 5th place performance at the Olympic Marathon Trials. Having the 47th seed time, people have referred to it as a Trent Briney-type performance [Note: in 2004 Briney PRd by 8 minutes to finish 4th at the Trials] where you came out of nowhere. In reality, you’ve been running really well the last two years, including PRs at 10 miles, 20K and half marathon this year – all in 2:12-2:13-type performances. Would you say it was more of a breakthrough marathon than a breakthrough performance?
You're probably correct in the sense that I had certainly run some intermediate (10K-marathon) races since last summer that would predict a 2:12ish marathon. However, I'm certainly not going to correct someone for calling it a breakthrough "performance". It doesn't offend me. I hadn't proven anything in a race of that magnitude. There are not a whole lot of people, myself included, that were willing to bet any money on me finishing in the top 5 at the Trials... It has been frustrating. Even if you took the tune up races out of the equation, we (Dennis and myself) really thought the training I was doing in the build-ups for Twin Cities last fall and Boston this spring showed I was in 2:12 shape. I don't remember where I heard it or who to attribute the quote to, but someone called the marathon a "fickle mistress". I love that line. I'm not the first and I won't be the last person to struggle figuring it out.

Did the slow early pace help with your race plan?
I don't know that it specifically helped. I didn't want a "slow" race. I was just hoping the whole front pack didn't start out at Ryan Hall's goal pace. The first 10K split looked slow, but that was all in the first 2 miles. We were crawling out of the start. I'm not a very patient racer. Normally, when guys are looking around, stopping and trying to cajole someone into getting out and making it honest, it drives me insane. That was mistake number one (out of at least 10) I made at Twin Cities last year. I was so irate after the pack ran a 5:30 opening mile that I rushed to the front and ran a 4:45. The pack caught back up around 10 miles, and I settled back in. The damage had already been done though... My plan during the trials was simple, be patient, let the race play out and don't cover any moves that would force me to redline early on.

What were you thinking when five of the race favorites broke away just after 10K?
Honestly, I thought that pack was where the team would come from. In a break where that many of the favorites are involved, you can count on one or maybe two guys coming off the back, but not three... For myself though, I knew covering it would almost certainly spell disaster for me later. They went away hard, and, in spite of what that first 10K split might lead people to believe, we weren't running slow when they made the break. I had just split my last two miles in 5:00 and 4:56 before they moved. My decision to stay where I was certainly was buoyed by the fact that I was running in a group with Alan Culpepper, Brian Sell, Pete Gilmore and Khalid. If they thought, it was crazy to cover it. Then I would have had to be an idiot too.

You’ve had some difficulties during the late stages of your last couple of marathons; at the 2006 TCM you went through the half in 1:06 before finishing in 2:19 and at Boston this year you ran 2:38. Were thoughts of those races in your head during the last 10K of the Trials?
Not "blowing up" was really the only thought in my mind for a lot of the middle of the race. With one lap to go (21 miles) though, I really felt like I was going to hold together... Of course, 20 miles into TCM last year I "really thought" I would hold together too.

What does it say about the state of distance running in the U.S. when the silver medallist from four years ago wasn’t able to make next year’s team?
Remember the "fickle mistress" line? Meb's a phenomenal runner, certainly not the 8th best marathoner in the country. It speaks to the harshness of our qualifying system, one race with just the top three qualifying. However, as you said, it also speaks to the state of U.S. distance running. Having been in it for 8 years (since college), I've seen the transformation. It is SO much deeper than it was 8, 4 or even 2 years ago. The major difference in ‘08 is that, as a favorite, you can't have an off day and still make the team.

After the race, who was the first person you told you came in 5th and what was their reaction?
It's funny. After the race, by the time I had rubbed out my cramping hamstring, gone to the press conference and then to finish up at drug testing, about 2 hours had passed. At that point pretty much everyone had seen the results or talked to someone who had.

Prior to the race we heard a lot about the tough five-loop course through Central Park and a lot of the athletes were talking about course-specific workouts. Where and what kind of workouts did Dennis have you doing to prepare? Were you able to visit NYC to view the course prior to race weekend?
I did a lot of workouts down in Eagan on a loop with some long rolling hills. We did most of our specific marathon pace and long runs out there. The hills on the loop where a little longer and bigger than what was in Central Park but I thought is was great preparation. After the New Haven 20K, I did get a chance to stay in NYC for a couple of days and run on the course. I did a 25 or 26 mile long run on the course.

Now what? How close are you to obtaining a 10,000 meter qualifying time?
I definitely want to get back on the track in the spring. I don't have my 10K qualifier yet, but I'll give myself a couple of shots. I really think I could have run 10K PR on the track at any point this summer or fall had there been an opportunity. I should be able to run something around 28 flat in the spring if I'm healthy.

Finally, you and Ryan Shay both run for Saucony, he’s raced in the Twin Cities on numerous occasions and you spent some time training together in Arizona. Do you have any thoughts or stories you’d like to share about him?
I recorded a few of my memories about Ryan in my blog at the NYRR site. Ryan was an inspiring guy to be around. He was more focused, more driven and probably the hardest worker I knew. My thoughts and prayers go out to Alicia (his wife) and Ryan's family. He will be missed.

JANIS KLECKER

2007-11-13T12:43:00.000-06:00

I still think it's pretty cool that someone with no journalism background can just go out and interview the top runners around. But to be able to interview an Olympian...it doesn't get much cooler than that.

When I think of pioneering women for Minnesota running, two names immediately come to mind; Janice Ettle and Janis Klecker. If you search the Minnesota Running Data Center you'll have no problem finding their names sprinkled throughout various rankings, no matter the distance. The top local runners of today are still chasing times these women set 20-some years ago.

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Janis Klecker, 47 of Minnetonka, recently to ask her about her running career. (Photo by Victah Sailer)

You ran 2:58 for your first marathon in 1979 at the age of 18. Seeing how your mom was a veteran of multiple marathons and ultras, was she a big influence on your running at the time? When did you first get involved with the sport?
My mom was a huge influence on my running. She was always such an encouragement to me. We had so much fun running races together and often competed as a mother-daughter team. I am told we have the fastest combined marathon times in the world for a mother daughter duo. I first began running when I was in my first year of college, simply for fitness sake. I had no competitive goals in mind. I ran my first 10k in 1979 with the encouragement of my mom and it went from there. I actually was 19 when I ran my first marathon. It was City of Lakes Marathon (which is now Twin Cities Marathon) in the fall of 1979. I was third place for the women in 2:58. I was Janis Horns at the time and the winner of that marathon was Barney Klecker.

By 1984 you were running in the first Olympic Trials Marathon for women – your first of five qualifiers. Were you aware that women’s competitive running was about to explode at that time? What was it like to be one of the trailblazers in the sport for Minnesota women?
I think I was a little naive about women's running at the time. It was excited to think that women could run the marathon in the Olympics, but I still felt pretty new to the sport at the time. As time has gone on I have learned to appreciate all the experiences I have had as a result of my running and am honored to have been in the sport as it began to blossom.

Who would you say was your strongest competitor over the years?
When I was running my most competitive marathons there were not as many foreign athletes in races as there are today. The American women who were running well at the time like Jane Welzel, Jan Ettle, Kim Jones, Cathy O'Brien, Francie Larieu-Smith, Lisa Weidenbach, Gordon Bloch, Maria Trujillo, Diane Bussa, Gail Kingma (just to name a few) were all very strong competitors.

In 1992 you won the Trials in 2:30, but then were disappointed with your 21st place finish at the Barcelona Olympics, running 2:47. In retrospect, what do you think went wrong?
It is hard to say that any one thing went wrong that day. It was very hot and humid and very polluted. I have asthma and am from Minnesota, so these things I think affected me. I felt very well trained going into the race. I guess I learned you can't plan for the race of your life. You train hard and hope that a good race comes at the right time. I was happy to finish, but a bit disappointed in the time. As time has gone by, I just savor the whole experience and don't dwell on the results of the race.

Being an Olympian, is it safe to assume that was your fondest running memory or would you rank something else higher?
The Olympic Trials in Houston is probably my fondest memory of a race. It was exciting to have all the training-emotionally, spiritually, and physically come together on that day. I do have very good memories of Twin Cities Marathon and also Grandma’s Marathon as well. There were so many different races I ran, it is hard to pick only one.

How would you describe your training during your peak years?
I ran about 70-100 miles per week (in one running workout a day) and cross trained a second workout most days. I rode a lot of stationary bike, aqua-jogged, snowshoed, and swam a lot of laps to enhance my training while minimizing the risk of injury. My running workouts consisted of a long run a week, hill workouts, mile repeats (often on the treadmill), and a track workout here and there. It really wasn't that unique, just consistent.

In addition to starting marathons at a young age, you also started running ultras at a young age. At 22 years old you set an American Record for 50K, 3:13:51. Did you train any differently for 50K than for a marathon?
The training wasn't really any different. My long runs would sometimes approach 30 miles. But I did that in marathon training also.

Did you ever run anything longer than 50K?
I ran the Swiss Alpine Marathon once. It was a 67 km (about 42 miles) race mostly on trails in Davos, Switzerland. It was a beautiful race.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?
My strength was consistency and tenacity in my races. My weakness was trying to and wanting to do too many things at once.

What are your PRs?

My PR's are mile on the track--4:51, 5k-15:57, 5 miles-25:50, 10k-31:44, 1/2 marathon-1:10:41, marathon-2:30:12, 50k-3:13:51

What is your running like now? Does competing as an age-grouper ever cross your mind?
I still run a moderate amount. I have run an occasional race in the last few years. I have 6 children ages 7,9,10,12,and twins who are 14. Between Barney and the kids, my life is very full. It seems my life is much more about them right now than about any competitive goals that may linger. I haven't really gotten to serious about competing as an age-grouper.

Your oldest kids are now teenagers. Do they show any interest in running? What advice do you and Barney give to them?
All 6 of my children participate in a variety of sports. My oldest son ran track last spring and will probably do so again. I have a feeling some of them may run. We try to be encouraging but not too pushy. They are free to choose the sports they participate in.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
Bonnie Sons. We run together once a week and it is a highlight for me.

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
I have a poster that says “Running is a Celebration of the Heart.” I guess I've always known that, but I know it in a more meaningful way now. Once a runner, you're always a runner at heart, no matter what your training looks like.

HEATHER GIESEN

2007-11-11T20:25:00.000-06:00

This edition of Running Minnesota takes us across two state lines to Illinois. Unfortunately, a year ago Heather Giesen ended up in Aurora, IL after leaving Minnesota. Luckily, the 32-year old still comes back “home” a couple of times a year to help her GEAR teammates on the team circuit. This year they finished second to the squad from Run N Fun. Like some of the other women I’ve interview recently, Heather always seems to compete at a consistent level. In addition to the marathons mentioned in the interview, she ran 36:57 at the Get in Gear 10K and 18:07 at the Brian Kraft 5K, good enough for 9th and 7th, respectively. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Kryduba)

When and how did you get involved with running?
Growing up, I remember watching my dad go for a run and my mom go for a walk. We lived on a farm so the only routes were “out and backs”. I guess I was maybe 10 or 11 years old, and I always wanted to go with them. They only let me go about ¼ of a mile away from home. I guess that’s how it started.

In 6th grade our Physical Ed teacher asked if anyone wanted to run the mile for “extra credit”. I don’t know what possessed me to this day to run it, but I did. It was me and three boys from my class. I beat one of them and came in third. That started the competitive bug.

Then in high school I started running track and cross county. I loved it. We had such a fun time. I continued running through college. That’s where the enjoyment of running on a team began.

You moved to Illinois about a year ago and you just got married (sorry guys). Any chance of moving back to Minnesota?
I’m so glad to have the opportunity to live in different places, and experience different things. For now, Chicago is home for Greg and I. The plan is to return to Minnesota again soon. I can’t believe I actually miss those Minnesota winters, but I do!

How is the running scene in the Chicago area? Did you join another race team?
It’s tough to compare my Minnesota running to Chicago running. Having the lakes in Minnesota and of course the GEAR team is such a great opportunity. There is always a clear path, and plenty of good running company in Minnesota.

I was thankful to Kurt Decker for giving me a name and number of a high school friend of his who works at the Naperville Running Store, here in the Chicago area.

I was able to link up right away with a running team. We meet every Wednesday evening for track workouts from April to Oct, and long runs in the winter. I refrain from joining the race circuit itself, as I get plenty opportunities still from the GEAR team.

I now fully appreciate the Minnesota Dept of Transportation snow removal system. Unfortunately, the Chicago area is not as “runner friendly”. It does however “force” us to drive downtown and run the lakeshore quite often during the winter months. This is a beautiful route along the lake, past Navy Pier, and past Soldier Field (go Vikings!).

Even with the move, you still come back to Minnesota to race occasionally. What races do you tend to come back for?
Since this move to Chicago is “temporary”, the GEAR team still remains a priority. I’ve been thankful to Sonya Anderson-Decker and Kurt Decker for helping this process and keeping my active status with the team.

The spring races seem to be easier to get back to, before the summer gets busy. The Human Race is such a fun kickoff race. Of course, Grandma’s Marathon is always on the schedule.

With planning for a fall wedding, did you end up skipping a fall marathon?
Wish I could say I did! The Chicago Marathon was a week after the wedding. I was signed up, and despite record breaking temps, (which the Twin Cities marathon runners experienced as well), I ran the thing. Not my best performance, running 3:14:17, however, it’s a fun race.

You ran a 3:01:09 at Grandma’s Marathon. Were you happy with that performance?
I guess this was the summer / fall for warm marathons. My goal is usually to get it under 3 hours. No such luck again this year. There is always next year!

During that race I noticed you were running with a couple other GEAR teammates. The three of you seemed to be pacing a large number of men. Can you explain that?

Ha! I think it was the men that may have been pacing us! I was lucky to be able to run the race with Sonya and Laurie Hanscom - wonderful and talented ladies that I knew would keep us close to a 3-hour marathon. We were delighted to be sharing the road that day with the men…including you Chad! Nice racing by the way! You left us in the dust!

How has the rest of 2007 gone for you?
Whew…time to coast into the winter and get ready for next year.

Fall is a great time for some finally cooler weather, and fun small races. I think there is a “turkey trot” in every city.

Do you have any goals yet for 2008?
Plans are set for Boston this year. I am honored to be running the 2008 Boston with my mom! She qualified at the Green Bay Marathon and I couldn’t be more proud and excited to run my first Boston with my own mother. It’s great timing to watch the women’s Olympic trials the day before as well.

In June I’ll head back to Duluth to see if a sub-3 is in the cards and I’m planning to run the Okoboji, IA marathon again [Note: Heather ran 3:06 there this year] in July. It’s a great small town marathon with a triathlon at the same time. I’m also planning to run a fall marathon again. Maybe Chicago will cool down by then. And of course I’ll be making the trips back to Minnesota for as many team circuit races as I can get to.

What are your PRs?
Oh, so many years ago now.

The golden years of college gave me a 17:36 for a 5K, and a 36:21 for a 10K.
Lincoln half marathon one year was a 1:21 and I ran 2:56 one year at TCM.

What is your training philosophy?
I’d like to say that I run smart, taper appropriately, eat right, stretch, etc…but I don’t!

I run because it’s what I love to do, and it has become a lifestyle for me. It’s my way to get outside and escape the busyness of work and life. I have learned that consistency is what works for me. High mileage is key for my training, as well as tempos, however, with that I have also learned when it’s time to cut back and ease up.

If you could run with any Minnesotan, past or present, who would it be?
That would be a very large group of runners!

Finally, what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first started running?
High mileage can actually help if done right, as well as speed work. And don’t wear anything cotton in the winter!